Haven
by Nickelina
Summary: Was the death of Lady Jaye just a way to keep someone who knew too much quiet?
1. The Accident

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

_**The Accident**_

_Nine months earlier…_

"Stupid me, what was I thinking?" Alison said aloud as she weaved in and out of traffic on the freeway. "Where is he?" She jerked the car to the left and got in the passing lane. She reached for her cell phone and dialed her husband. She heard the phone beep as he rejected her call. "Damn him!"

A black sedan closed in on her fast and then swerved into the next lane. She looked ahead and saw her husbands Toyota SRV a few car lengths in front of her in the next lane. Before she could breathe a sigh of relive, she saw the black sedan speed up and rear ended the truck. Alison knew what was happening; it was no random accident. She hit the all call on her comm. and gave her coordinates to whoever was listening. "I need anyone who can get down here…Oh my God!" She screamed as she saw her husband's truck go over the side of the ravine. She pulled her car into the emergency lane and got out. She quickly looked to her right to check oncoming traffic then ran across all three lanes until she got to the edge of the ravine. "I'm gonna need and ambulance too! STAT! Flint's been in an accident!"

She noticed that the black sedan had also stopped along the side of the road. She saw a woman get out of the sedan and begin to walk down the embankment towards the truck that had flipped before landing on its side. When the woman pulled out her sidearm, Alison ran to catch up with her.

Before the woman could get close to the truck, Alison tackled her to the ground. She was not sure who this person was, all she knew was that this person ran her husband off the road and was planning to do worse. She tackled the woman and proceeded to knock her out.

Alison ran to her husband who was trapped in his truck. "Its ok Dash, I'm here. I'm going to get you out of here." She tried to pull her husband out of the wreck of his truck. "Listen to my voice. Try to stay awake." Alison placed her arms under her husband and gingerly pulled him out of the truck.

She moved him away from the wreck and to an area which she thought would be safe. Alison gently took her husband's head in her hands.

"Oh, Dash, I'm so sorry."

He asked her how she knew where to find him. With everything that was happening, she had to smile. Observation point was the only place he knew how to get to; it was obvious to her where he would have been going if he wanted to get away. She did her best to calm him. She could tell that he was in a lot of pain and it scared her, she had never seen him like that. Alison was afraid that she was going to lose him. She bent down close to him, and tenderly kissed him on the lips.

"I love you, Dash. I always have, I always will. Please hold on, help is on the way, baby."

He did his best to tell her that he loved her as well, but the amount of pain he was in did not make it easy.

Alison looked to see if the woman was still incapacitated. She noticed that the woman was stirring. She made the decision to leave her husband and try to secure the woman.

"I gotta go secure that woman. I need you to count to one hundred as loud as you can so I know you are still awake."

Her husband protested, but she went any way.

"I'll be right back," she said, squeezing his hand. "I promise."

Alison laid her husband back on the ground and stood up. She was not more that five feet away before she was standing face to face with the woman. Before she knew what was happening she saw the woman take a swing at her. She tried to take a step back, but before she could, she felt an intense pain rip through her. She tried to take a breath, but it would not come. She fell back and landed hard on the ground. Everything around her went black.

Duke paced in the executive office of Joe headquarters. Tonight had defiantly been a nightmare. There was so much going on, especially with the red shadows, and now both Flint and Lady Jaye were at the hospital. He knew that Flint would be all right. He suffered from a lot of cuts and bruises, and a couple of broken ribs. Lady Jaye on the other hand was in far worse shape than anyone had expected. She was still in surgery, and if she happened to be the luckiest woman in the world, she would live long enough to see daylight.

Something lurked at the back of Duke's mind. None of this could have been an accident. Duke had a special connection with Jaye. It was something that both had kept secret from everyone else they knew. What most people would think were quiet lunches and talks between missions and meetings, were actually secret meetings between the two of them.

When Duke had left GI Joe and began working with the CIA, he would often tap Jaye for insight and information. With her being only part time in the military, there was no one to go through if he needed to sweep her away time to time to check things in Washington and abroad. Her connections in the intelligence field came in handy. She assisted Duke in many of his Black Ops missions with the CIA without the knowledge of her husband or any of the other members of the team.

Duke nominated her to head of intelligence for GI Joe. There were Joes who had questions about her ability to do it, but with all her side work with him, there was no better person qualified.

Over the past year, they had many meetings, and late night phone calls. She had brought her concern over the state of the team, as well as what was going on in Washington with the jugglers. As much as he had wanted to think her a bit paranoid over the whole thing, once she began to present him with her information, he too began to see the other side of what was happening. They had talked extensively about the Joe's new leader, General Rey. Jaye had told Duke about the feeling in her gut every time she was in the same room with him. Jaye was never one to squelch her gut feelings.

Earlier that evening, she had pulled Duke aside. Once they were alone and sure that no one was listening, she told him that she had a confrontation with Rey. She questioned him about his history and he told her in not so many words that there were things in his past he could not reveal. He told her that he would never reveal to her who he really was and he was sure she was never going to find out. Jaye had told Duke that she thought she was on to one lead, but it had brought her right back to the jugglers. Moreover, that scared her. Scarlett who wanted to go over some things with Jaye interrupted them. Duke told Jaye that they would finish their conversation later that night. Unfortunately, he never had the chance.

Duke knew Jaye well enough to know that she would not exaggerate the truth, and that her findings must be something. He was afraid now that he would lose her before she could ever tell him. He ran his fingers through his blond hair and sighed. He walked to the secure area of headquarters and punched his code into the keypad. The door opened and he secured it behind him.

The room had video screens and computer terminals. He sat at one of the terminals and got himself to the main screen of the Joe security software. Duke slipped a chip into the floppy drive to encrypt anything he would type or see. He logged in under Jaye's special security code and waited for her information to load.

"Alright, LJ. Let's see what you have for me."

Duke only read Lady Jaye's report for a few minutes before he shut the program down and took out his chip. He opened the security door and once he was in the hallway, he immediately called Hawk on his comm.

"I need to have a meeting with you right now." Duke said as he made his way towards the main offices.

"This better be more important than what is going on right now, Hauser." Hawk replied.

"It is. We're just two old friends having a chat. I'm on my way down."


	2. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

_**Desperate times, desperate measures**_

After talking things over with Hawk, Duke made the decision that he knew was only right. Both men were convinced that the attacks tonight were planned by someone who knew exactly where the Faireborn's would be. Duke believed that tonight the Red Shadows could get two for the price of one. Jaye was the actual target and Flint was used as a pawn to get to her. Duke and Hawk agreed that because of the information that Jaye had on the jugglers and the Red Shadows, plus her suspicions on General Rey, she should be put into hiding until things blew over, and that was only if she survived.

"I really do hope this is the right thing." Duke said as he shook Hawk's hand.

"In the end, Duke, it will be." Hawk answered. He thought about Alison, she was like the daughter he never had. He stared out of the windows searching for a glimmer of hope for her survival that was not there.

On his way out of the building, Duke made a call to an old friend at the CIA. He knew that he was going to have to call in some favors to pull this off. When he was in his car, he was put through to his contact.

"Conrad "Duke" Hauser. It's good to hear from you." Zach Allen said from the other line.

"Yeah, Zach, I wish it was under better circumstances that I was calling you."

"What can I do you for?"

"Where can I meet you to talk?"

"Well, I'm still at the offices, can you meet me here?"

Duke hesitated before answering. "No. That's not good." He thought about where to meet. He was sure the pentagon was locked down after the assassination of the jugglers and he did not want to be spotted in Langley in case the Red Shadows were keeping surveillance on the whole Joe team. "Meet me at the basin. I need you to get there as fast as you can."

"I'm leaving now. Conrad, are you in some sort of trouble?"

"No. But a friend of mine is."

The water lapped gently at the shore of the Basin. The full moon cast a white light over the water. Duke heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Zach walking towards him.

"It would have been nice if you would have told me what part of the Basin you were at." Zach said.

"I thought you would figure it out. Thanks for coming." Duke extended his hand towards Zach. The two exchanged a hand shake.

"Anything for you. What the trouble?"

"Can we walk?" Duke asked. "Did you hear about the accident on the beltway this evening?"

"I caught a traffic update earlier, why?"

"It wasn't an accident. One of my men was intentionally run off the road. He's in the hospital now. Do remember Alison Hart-Burnett?"

It took Zack a minute before he remembered who she was. "I think so. The cute one who helped us clear out the embassy in Chechestan, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one. She was also involved in that accident."

Zach stopped walking and looked at Duke. "She's okay, right?"

"I wish I could say yes. I really don't know. She's not expected to make it out of surgery."

"My god, Conrad what happened to her?"

"She was impaled by a large piece of metal. Something that fell off her husband's truck as it rolled down the embankment. But the real story is she was stabbed with that piece of metal by someone who is now in custody at GI Joe headquarters."

"They were set up then."

"Exactly." Duke began to walk around the Basin again. "I need your expertise, Zach. Over the past few months, people from my team have been killed, in and out of the field. Alison has some very valuable information. There have been things happening all over and I'll be damned, but Alison was able to piece it all together. The people who attacked the Faireborn's tonight know that. They were next on the list. If word got out that she lived past tonight, they will try again. I need her alive."

"I may be off track, but does this have anything to do with six of our top generals being assassinated tonight?"

"It has everything to do with that."

"Jesus Christ, Hauser! Why is the shit twenty feet deep when you're around? I don't know, man. This is, this is…"

"This is what we do Zach. This is our job. She's my friend, I owe it to her."

Zach sighed. "I can make sure _Alison _doesn't make it through the night. I have connections at John Hopkins. I can get _Jane doe_ moved there tonight until we can figure out a more permanent solution. Where is she now?

"Walter Reed."

"I'll meet you there."

"Zach, you know nothing of what I have just told you."

"Conrad, do you even need to tell me that? We're just moving a car accident patient to a better equipped hospital. I'll bring everything with me."

"Thank you, Zach. You have no idea how much of a help you are."

"Oh, Conrad, I think I do.

When duke arrived at the hospital, he stopped at the desk of the emergency department to inquire about Flint. He had to show his government badge in order to get any information. They let Duke back to the examination rooms to see him.

Flint's face was badly bruised, and he was in a gown. A nurse was trying to secure the IV that he had ripped out of his arm. She assured him that if he did not co-operate, that he would be restrained. Duke stepped in before security was called.

"Dash, calm down."

"Where is Alison?" Flint demanded.

"I told you already, sir, she is in surgery." The nurse commented.

"Dash, please let them check you out." Duke pleaded. "You're not doing Alison any good acting this way."

"You don't understand. I saw her go down."

Duke walked to the bed and put his hand on his friends shoulder. "I do understand. We have everything under control. The woman who caused all this is in custody…"

"I don't care about that." Flint lay back on the bed. "I just need to know if my wife is okay."

"I'll find out for you. Now, please, let the doctor's finish checking you out."

Flint winced in pain, and looked up at this friend. "Please find out if Al is okay."

Duke turned to the door. As he walked down the hall, he knew this was going to be harder than he expected.

Duke walked up to the nurse's station and got the attention of one of the staff. "Excuse me, there was a woman brought in earlier from a car accident. Do you have information on her whereabouts?"

The nurse looked up at Duke from the desk. "I'm sorry, but unless you are immediate family I can't give you any information."

Duke took out his identification again and showed it to the nurse. "She's under government protective custody. I need to know her whereabouts and her condition immediately.

"Look, Sir," the nurse said, "I don't care if you were the president, I can't give you anymore information."

Duke was losing his temper fast. He slammed his identification on the desk. "Look, unless you want the secret service turning this emergency department upside down, I'd advise you tell me where she is."

The nurse became flustered and picked up the phone. She dialed the surgery floor and asked on the condition of the patient. She wrote down the information and handed it to Duke.

"She's still in surgery, but you can go to the second floor. A nurse will be waiting for you."

Duke took the paper from her and walked to the elevators. When the doors closed he hit the second floor button. Hopefully the nurse had some news for him when he got there.


	3. Live and Let Die

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

_**Live and Let Die**_

****The room in intensive care was dark save for the small light that was on the far wall. It was the only light the nurses needed to check out their patents by. She looked swamped in a mass of tubes and wires that seemed to run from under the blanket that covered her to every machine in the room. They all made some sort of noise. Her respirator made a compressing noise when it pushed air into her lungs, her heart monitor would beep ever so quietly. Even her IV would make noise when it would expel another dose of fluids. Duke sat in the corner of her room, watching her, oblivious to the sounds.

He noticed how pale she was. Her face seemed puffy as well as her hands, obviously a result of the massive amounts of fluids that the doctor's forced into her while trying to save her life. He had been there for a while now, even after the nurses had told him to leave. He was hoping she would open her eyes, anything to let him know she was going to be okay. Her outlook did not look good.

The injuries from the stabbing were massive. She was a fighter, but even the strongest would have a hard time with it. There was damage to her stomach and pancreas. Part of her liver had to be removed, because it was so badly torn, they could not repair it. Her right lung had been punctured and collapsed. She had also lost and incredible amount of blood. He knew that she would never be the same again. Her only saving grace was that the metal didn't go as far as to sever her spine. Duke left her room to go to the nurse's station to see if he could get a cold cloth to clean her face up with. The nurse returned with a small package of pre-moistened wipes and handed them to Duke.

Duke returned to her room and walked to the head of her bed. He squeezed himself in between it and the machines. Taking out a wipe he gently cleaned the side of her face where he could still see a small amount of dirt. He took his hand and smoothed her hair back.

"Dear God, Al, what did they do to you?" He said.

She did not respond. The sounds of the machines continued.

"Hang on, girl. You're gonna get through this."

Duke kissed her on the forehead and left the room. He went back to the nurse's station and asked them to call downstairs for Flint.

Flint arrived a few minutes later via wheelchair. He was still being watched and they would not let him walk. He was on edge. Duke talked to him before he was allowed in the room. Duke told him that she was barely hanging on, and that he should spend some time with her.

"Do what you have to, Dash." He told him. And the lies began.

Flint was wheeled into Jaye's room. They put him as close to her bed as possible. As soon as he saw her he broke down, weeping.

Duke left him alone with her and went to talk to her doctor. The doctor explained that she was still very critical and he had no clear answers, at least not tonight. Duke asked to speak privately with him and when they were alone in a private waiting room Duke explained that she was under protective custody and she needed to be moved immediately. The doctor advised against it. Duke assured him that he would provide a medical team to travel with her. Still the doctor would not budge. Duke was going to do it anyway. He thanked the doctor and they walked back into the hall. He stopped back in front of Jaye's room. He saw Flint holding her hand and smoothing her hair, talking to her. Duke knew what he was about to would break his best friend's heart, but he had no other choice. He left the ICU and called Zach.

"Are you ready?" Duke asked.

"Yes, I have everything set up for you. How is she doing?" Zach asked.

"Not well, not well at all." Duke said sadly.

"Well, I have a team on standby at John Hopkins. I pulled the life support medical team from Ft. Meade as well as our own doctors, and I have your team's doctor on the way up."

"How are we doing this?"

"Simple. Our Med team is going to come in. She will code, and then we will move her. Did her husband see her yet?"

"He's in with her now."

"Good. Give him a few more minutes. I had him admitted. They will bring him to a room. While he is getting settled we will make the move."

"Okay, sounds good. Just give me the word."

"Your doc's been briefed. He will initiate."

"God, Zach, I hope this works."

"My plans always work, Hauser." And with that Zach hung up.

The nurses came into Jaye's room and told Flint that he was going to have to leave. He protested, and they took him out before he got too loud. He held onto her hand as long as he could before they wheeled him back away from her bed. He told her that he loved her, and tried to wait for a response, but he was taken out of the room before anything happened. Duke stood in the darkened doorway of the room across from Jaye's and watched his best friend, broken, being taken to the elevator. When the doors to the elevator closed, the doors to the next bank opened. Five military medical personnel, including Lifeline, entered the ICU. They walked into Jaye's room and began to look over her. Lifeline grabbed her file and looked over it before handing it to another doctor and walking up to Duke.

"What is going on here? You're not planning on moving her, are you?" Lifeline asked.

"We may have to."

"No you don't. Duke," Lifeline paused. "She may not make it if you do."

Duke kept his eyes on Jaye's room. "She may not make it anyway."

Lifeline began to pace in front of Duke. "I don't know if I can let you do this."

"You can." Duke's voice did not falter. "I need you to tend to Flint. He's in the emergency department."

"I can see him later."

"You will tend to Flint now. " Duke's voice held no emotion. "Make sure he is admitted, and sedated. Page me when this is completed. I will need you to stay with him after that."

Lifeline shook his head. "I can't do that. It's not right."

"Are you disobeying a direct order, solider?"

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"No."

"I took an oath…"

"I told you to do something, I expect it done."

Lifeline turned on his heel and walked out of the ICU.

Duke sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

The doctor and nurses began securing Jaye for transport. They all had their doubts about how this was going to happen. Duke waited for Lifeline's page and when it came he let the staff know. With Jaye hooked up to portable IV and monitors, as well as being manually ventilated, the nurse shut off her machines and the alarms began to go off. The hospital nurses and doctors went to her room and were ushered out. After ten minutes, Duke instructed the staff to wait until the morning to call to Flint's room and let him know that his wife had passed.

He went with the medical team to the roof where a helicopter was waiting for them. He watched as Jaye was loaded into it and it took off. Duke hastily made his way outside and to his car. He needed to get back to headquarters and plan on how to stop the Red Shadows.

It took all the strength Lifeline had to hold Flint back when the doctor came in to tell him that Jaye did not make it. Even though he had been sedated, it didn't seem to matter. Flint was out of bed and dressed. Lifeline fought him all the way to the ICU. Flint stopped just short of Jaye's room. He looked in the darkened room. There was only one very small light on and he could see the shape of her body covered completely by a sheet. Lifeline stood next to him in the doorway.

"Do you want to go in?" Lifeline asked.

Flint hesitated. "No. I don't think I can."

"I'll be with you."

"I said no." Flint said, forcefully.

"Is there family I should call?"

"I _am_ her family." Flint turned and walked back to the elevators.

"Where are you going, Flint?" Lifeline asked.

"To get the bastards who killed her."

Zach Allen spent the rest of the night and most of the next day standing vigil at Alison's bedside. She had been successfully moved the night before and was holding on as best she could. The 'Black' had taken over and she now had an assumed name and medical record.

He waited for Duke, but had not heard any word from him. He didn't expect to. Zach knew what Duke was up against and took it upon himself to see to Alison's safety. The Joe's own doctor had been there earlier, and Zach had sent him away fearing that he too was being watched.

Zach had full trust in the medical staff at John Hopkins, and his contact there stopped in to make sure that Alison had everything she needed. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He knew he should leave, and he was sure she was going to be fine. He got up from the chair and grabbed his jacket. He took another look at the machines and noticed that instead of the slow beeps of her pulse it was getting faster. Zach was no doctor but he knew that something was going on, good or bad. He walked out of her room and went to the nurse's station.

"I think something is going on." He told them.

The nurse followed him into Alison's room. She looked over the machines, and then reached for the phone. She reached the doctor on duty and called her to the room.

"What is going on?" Zach asked.

"I'm sorry. You're going to have to leave the room."

"What? Why?"

"You're going to have to leave."

"Tell me." He demanded.

"Her blood pressure is dropping. She could be bleeding again. Just go to the waiting room." She told him.

Zach reluctantly backed out of the room as more medical staff entered her room. He walked to the waiting room and tried again to reach Duke.

Four hours passed before anyone came to see him. A tired looking doctor walked in, still wearing scrubs, sat down in front of him and took off her head covering.

"Mr. Anderson? I'm Doctor Miller." He said as he shook Zach's hand. "Your sister presented quite a case for us today."

"Just tell me what is wrong."

"She was bleeding internally. You have to understand that the liver…"

"Is she alive?" Zach cut her off.

"Yes." The doctor paused. "Yes, she is."

"Thank God.

"I can't even being to tell you how much this is going to be touch and go from here. She's not out of the woods, not by a mile. I do need to ask you, why did you move her from the hospital where she first received treatment?"

Zach tried to look as convincing as possible. "I knew this hospital was better. My sister is all I have. She needs the best."

"I see."

"When can I see her?"

"I can have a nurse bring you to her room, but right now, you can't go in. She's going to need all the rest she can get. I would really like to talk to the paramedics who were on scene for her accident. It must have been a pretty bad one."

"It was."

"Well, Sir," the doctor said as she stood up. "We'll be in touch."

"Thank you." Zach said. He waited until the doctor left the room then he used the phone in the waiting room to call Duke. He was still unable to reach him so he left a message for him. Zach hung up the phone and reclined in the chair. His plans to leave for the night were over. He waited until Alison got back to her room and he would sit with her as long as they would let him.


	4. Sunrise

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

_**Sunrise**_

The nurse pressed the button to raise the upper portion of her bed. Every couple of seconds she would ask if it was okay. Alison would only moan if it was too painful. They didn't get very far when Alison's face told the nurse to stop. The nurse put her hand on Alison's shoulder until she calmed.

Alison took a deep breath and whispered. "I'm going to throw up."

"Okay. Its okay." The nurse said, as she grabbed the small bowl from the side of the bed and held it under Alison's chin. "You're doing so well today, Miriam. Try and take some deep breaths, it will pass."

Alison did as the nurse told her and the wave of nausea passed but the pain did not. She reached to her side and picked up the small handheld button that gave her a dose of morphine. She pressed it and closed her eyes. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

The nurse checked her vitals and walked into the bathroom. She came back out with a towel and a package of cleaning cloths. "Let's get you cleaned up a bit. I hear you're expecting visitors again today. Won't they be surprised when they see you sitting up and looking pretty?"

"Why do you keep calling me that? Alison whispered.

"Because that is your name. Is there a nickname you would like me to use?" The nurse told her.

"My name is not Miriam."

"Shhh, sometimes a traumatic injury and the medication can do that. Now let's start at the top. If you feel any pain just let me know. The closer I get to your middle, press your button." The nurse began to wash Alison's hair.

Alison closed her eyes again and tried her best to relax. Nothing was registering. She knew she was in the hospital, but it was foggy how she got there She remembered Dash being in an accident, but she wasn't sure about anything after that. She tried to stay awake as long as she could every day and wait for Dash to get there. He must be here when I'm sleeping, she thought.

She had fallen back asleep and when she awoke, she could see someone sitting in the chair next to her bed. Her vision was blurry, and she blinked, hoping that when her vision finally cleared up Dash would be at her side. She reached over, and tried to grab his hand. She blinked again and the face that was looking back at her was not her husband, but someone she had never seen before. She looked at him but didn't react.

"Good afternoon, Miriam. It's nice to see you awake."

"Who are you?" She asked him.

"My name is Zach. Your name is Miriam." He told her.

"I don't understand." She whispered.

Zach got out of his chair and closed the door to her room. He walked back to the chair and moved it so he was facing her. "My name is Zach Allen, I'm a friend of Conrad Hauser, from the CIA. You are under protective custody right now. Do you know what that means?"

Alison shook her head yes.

"There is always someone here with you 24/7. Today, I decided to stop by and see you. You are doing remarkable. We didn't expect you to make it this far."

"Duke, where is he?"

"He had some things to work on today."

"Dash?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know who he is."

"My husband."

"Let me get in contact with Duke and I'll find out for you. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Something to drink."

"You look like you could use a stiff one, but I'll go grab you some ice chips. I'll be right back." He patted her leg and walked out of the room.

When Zach came back, he explained to her the situation regarding her identity. Her alias was of a Miriam Anderson. Zach was her brother, and she had been in a car accident. They were using her memory loss to their benefit. After he was through, he took her hand and sat quietly with her until she had fallen asleep.

Everyday was harder for Alison. She was finally able to get out of bed and into a chair in the afternoons it was the beginning of her physical therapy. Zach spent as much time as he could with her, and although he had no information about Dash for her, he was a source of comfort. She looked forward to his visits. Duke had called to talk to her, but she had a particularly hard day and she stayed awake long enough to hear him ask how she was, before she fell asleep.

Alison was sitting in the reclining chair in her room watching the television. There were two orderlies in her room cleaning and changing her bed. Zach slipped in quietly and stood behind her. He reached around her and held a bouquet of flowers in front of her.

"How is my favorite sister today?" He said.

Alison closed her eyes and took as deep of a breath she could of the flowers. "I'm okay."

Zach peeked around the side of the chair and smiled at her. "I brought you flowers."

"Really?" Alison did her best to smile. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to, besides, you haven't had any delivered." He kissed her on the forehead and put the flowers on her tray. "I am just amazed Miriam, I can't believe how good you are doing." He made it a point that the orderlies heard him use her name.

"I put on a good front." She said warily. "Zach?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell them to hurry? I really need to get back in bed."

"Are you in pain?" Zach's face was filled with concern.

Alison shook her head yes and her face became even more pale than it already was. Zach turned to the orderlies and told them that they were through cleaning and they needed to leave. He grabbed Alison's hand a squeezed it before going out to get a nurse.

Zach stood to the side and watched as the nurses got Alison back in bed. Once she was settled he sat next to her.

"Alison, you'll have another visitor."

She wearily turned her head to face him. She wanted to see his face when he said her husband's name.

"Conrad should be stopping in later to see you."

She closed her eyes and tried to choke back the tears. How long was it going to take Dash to get to her?

"I'll stay until he gets here. There is something else I need to tell you."  
She didn't open her eyes; she just merely moaned her attention.

"I'm going out on assignment. Conrad will be looking after you until I can get back."

She must have fallen asleep before Zach left. She opened her eyes, her room was partially dark. The curtains were drawn, and the television that was usually on had been turned off. She blinked her eyes and reached for the call box when she felt a hand on hers.

"Hello, Lady Jaye." A voice said.

Her eyes flew open in shock. She drew her hand back away from where it was and her breathing became more rapid.

"It's okay. Relax." General Rey took the call box out of her hands.

"What are you doing here?" She gasped.

"I came to see you. I heard you were doing much better."

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to have watched you sleep and read a bit of your file. You have some nasty injuries. I'm surprised you survived."

"Where is Dash?" She asked.

"He's not here." Rey said. The hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

"Where is he?" Alison said, her voice holding more panic than before.

Rey shifted his weight. "I thought someone would have told you by now. I hate to be the one to do this to you."

She felt tears come to her eyes; she knew what he was going to say.

"The night of the accident, Flint was severely injured as well, but you probably know that. We lost him"

"No." She cried softly. "No. It's not true. Tell me it's not true."

"I really thought it was going to be you, but it was him." General Rey shook his head. "Such a terrible, tragic loss."

Alison felt as though her heart had been ripped from its chest. She felt a pain rise in her that she was sure, no amount of medication would take care of. She felt light headed. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" She said through her sobs.

General Rey took her hand. "I thought someone did already, I'm sorry, Lady Jaye."

"The hell you are. Get out!" She pulled her hand away from his. "Just get out."

"Don't you want my company? To comfort you?"

"Nurse!" she called, although her voice was not as loud as she needed it to be. "Anyone!"

"I'm right here, Jaye" Duke said was he walked though the doorway. "And the General is just leaving."

"I suppose I should. I'll come to see you later, Lady Jaye." General Rey said.

Duke waited for him to walk out the door and followed him into the hall.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" He asked.

"Checking on one of my men, Hauser. Last time I checked, that wasn't a crime."

"How the hell did you find her?"

"You CIA types are all the same. You think no one else can uncover your tracks." General Rey began to walk away.

"Stay away from her, Rey. She's no longer your concern." Duke called after him. General Rey stopped and turned around.

"She is more than you know."

Duke returned to Alison's room. She had gotten herself into a sitting position and she looked flustered. He walked over to her bed and she put up her hand to stop him.

"Don't."

"Alison, what did he say to you?"

She put her hand up to her head. After a few seconds she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't someone tell me?"

Conrad pulled the chair up to the bed and sat down. "Tell you what, Honey?"

"Don't. Do not call me that."

Conrad was quiet for a second. "What did he tell you?"

"Dash is…"

"Alison." Conrad started. He couldn't tell her anything more, he just hoped that she could read into his silence to find the truth.

She turned her head away from him and tried to fall asleep. Conrad stood up and ran his fingers through her hair. She made no effort to move away from him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her and kissed her on the forehead. He sat back in the chair and took her hand in his. He sat with her until long in the night. He knew he was going to have to move her, now that General Rey had found her. She had to be kept hidden until he uncovered all the information she had been discovered, and he could bring it to light.


	5. A Boat on the Sea

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

_**A Boat on the Sea**_

…_I never knew I was built so strong, I never thought I was built for hurricanes; my heart is a boat on the sea…_

The early afternoon is when Alison would take her walk outside. She made it part of her daily routine. The autumn air was crisp and the rustling of the leaves on the ground was a comforting sound. She would walk around the building of the rehabilitation facility that Duke had placed her in. On the opposite side of the building was a small patch of woods and she would sit for a time looking out. Shortly after General Rey came to see her, Duke made arrangements for her to be moved to New York State. She didn't care where she was moved to. She didn't care if anyone ever came to see her. She didn't care if she ever got better.

Duke never did tell her the how and why that related to Dash's death. He told her the same thing that Rey did. He told her that they wanted to keep it from her because they thought that it would affect her recovery. He was right. She barely ate, wouldn't work with the therapists, and refused to take her medications. She would go out for her walk then be back in bed for the rest of the day.

Alison sat on her usual bench and looked out into the woods. Other patients would walk past her, some would smile, or wave and she ignored them. She had been at the facility for a little over a month. The afternoon sky was cloudless and bright blue and the contrast of the turning leaves reminded her of the day she got married. She shrugged the thought off. It wasn't something that she wanted to think about.

She was no longer guarded on a daily basis. Duke thought that this facility was equipped to take care of any security concerns surrounding Alison, especially since he had released word that she had died in the hospital to anyone connected with her while she was in there. She was for all intents and purposes, alone.

The breeze had turned cold and a nurse came around the corner with a wheelchair.

"Sarah? It's time to go back to your room." She pulled the wheelchair up next to Alison.

"I'm not ready to go back yet." Alison replied.

"It's much too chilly out here." She took Alison's hand and helped her into the chair. "We're going to be having coffee and doing some arts and crafts in the dining room. Why don't you come?"

"I don't really want to."

The nurse wheeled her back into the building and as Alison was going back to her room she caught the news that was on the television.

"…The Majority leader will be sworn in later this afternoon, taking over for Speaker of the House Bill Winston, who died earlier this morning in an apparent boating accident."

Alison held up her hand to stop the nurse. She turned the chair to face the television. The reporter continued. "Authorities continue to investigate what happened aboard the Speaker's boat, but have yet to release any information…"

"I need to get back to my room." Alison told her nurse.

Alison rummaged through her small drawer looking for Duke's cell phone number. She thought she had it, and once she was left alone she reached for the phone and dialed. She was unsuccessful the first time. On the second try she got through to his voice mail. She didn't hesitate to leave a message.

"Duke, it's me. It started. I knew it. Please, try to put everything together. You have to stop them." She was flustered and couldn't think of any other way to tell him in case anyone would hear the message. She hung up with out saying goodbye.

General Rey snatched the phone out of the sergeant's hand. He threw it on the table in the middle of the war room of GI Joe Headquarters. "Where is she?"

"We traced the call to Watertown, New York." The Sergeant replied.

"Duke thinks he's smarter than me." Rey said. He walked around the table and sat at the head of it. "I have a mission for you. I need you to go to Watertown," He slammed his fist on the table. "She is a hindrance to our cause. Dela Eden couldn't do the job. Bring her to me. I will take care of her myself. If you want a job done right, I guess you have to do it yourself."

"Yes, Sir."

It was night, and the rehab center was quiet. Alison had her television on, as usual, but she had kept the sound down. She couldn't sleep and wanted a sleeping pill. She raised her bed to a sitting position and called for a nurse. It took longer than usual for someone to come to her room. When someone finally entered, she could tell it wasn't anyone she expected. Using the light from the television, she could see a man, casing the room; he looked back out to the hall and closed the door. Her heart began to race. She didn't know who he was but she had a feeling she knew what he was there for. She remembered the bag that Duke had given her and its contents. If she could just make it into the bathroom…

She took a deep breath and tried to muster all the strength she could find. She feigned sleep although she kept her eyes open enough to see what was happening. The man, dressed in black turned the volume up on the television to distract from any noise. He walked around to the side of her bed and stood over her. He paused before he reached down to grab her. She jerked to the side and in the movement fell out of the bed. She landed hard on the floor, almost screaming in pain as it shook through her weak body.

He ran to the other side of the bed and lunged at her. She tried to kick him away. Her hits were not hard and the man grabbed her leg and pulled her toward him. She grabbed onto the bottom rail of the bed to prevent herself from being pulled far. She screamed hoping someone would hear her, but it was in vain. The man pulled her hand over hand closer to him. When she was close enough to him he pinned her to the floor, straddling her.

The pressure from having someone kneeling over her was almost too much. She took a deep breath and raised her knee to his groin. This time the hit was hard enough to make him double over next to her. She elbowed him in the head and crawled to towards the bathroom. Just before she got into the doorway she felt a hand on her ankle. It didn't stop her. She pulled her leg into the doorway, with her attacker attached. His arm was still holding on and she slammed the door on his arm, once, twice, and a third time and he let go.

With the door securely shut and locked Alison crawled in pain towards the cabinet. She pulled the bag down from the shelf and unzipped it. Inside were a GI Joe Com and a gun. She hit the all call on the Com and checked the magazine. It was empty. She heard her attacker twisting the knob on the door. She reached into the bag and found the magazine, and snapped it into place. She cocked the gun and pointed it at the door.

Her attacker began to bang on the door, using his body to break it down. It worked. The light from the bathroom made his presence a shadow to her.

"You can't hide from me, or General Rey." He told her.

"Burn in hell, motherfucker." She said, breathlessly and pulled the trigger.

Duke was spending another late night at headquarters. He had been going through all of Lady Jaye's files both paper and electronic for days now and was only beginning to piece together all the events that had been playing out in Washington. An alert came across on his Com and he looked down to see if there was a message attached. When he saw who it was coming from he quickly put all of his papers in a lock box and walked into the hallway. No one knew that he had Firewall refurbish a Com and that he had given it to Lady Jaye. It was only transmitted to Duke, and no one else. He made his way to the secure room and locked the door. He hit the return on his Com but all he got was static. He tried again, this time trying to talk to the person on the other line.

"Alison?" He got more static. "Alison, what is going on, over." He heard what he thought were gun shots. "Alison!" He yelled. "Come in!" It was a minute before he got a response.

"Duke?" Her voice was weak. "Duke, come in."

"I'm here, Ali. What happened?"

"I shot him. Why are they doing this?"

Duke was alarmed. "Who did you shoot? What is going on?"

Her voice broke up as she talked to him. "He just came in and I think he was going to kill me. Rey told him to kill me."

"Hang on, honey, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Duke was on his way out of the building when he ran into General Rey.

"Going somewhere, Hauser?" He asked.

Duke didn't reply.

"I asked you a question." Rey demeaned.

"Get out of my way." Duke tried to push this way around Rey.

Rey had an evil smile on his face. "I know where you're going, and you're too late."

Zach Allen ran down the hall past Alison's room that now had police tape across it. He got to the room on the corner and stopped long enough to flash his CIA badge at the local police officer who was guarding the door. He walked into the room, where Alison was being kept. She was sitting up in the bed and was obviously medicated. Zach walked closer to her bed and whispered her name. She opened her eyes and reached out for his hand.

"You're here." She said.

"I came as soon as I heard. Are you alright?" He asked.

"No." she said quietly. "I'm hurt, and I'm scared. Why is this happening to me?"

He gripped her hand tightly. "There's no need to be scared. Duke is on the way, we'll figure everything out. Try and get some rest, I'm going to talk to the police."  
"Zach, don't leave me."

"I'll be right back, I promise."

She caught her breath and tried to hold back the tears that were so very close to the surface. "Please, don't say that. I promised…"

Zach pointed to the hall. "I'll be right there. You're going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine."

The Watertown police department was less than pleased when the CIA took over the case of the incident at the rehabilitation hospital. As far as the CIA was concerned, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Duke had arrived, and had taken over the case. He was overstepping his boundaries, but Zach was there to back him up. The man who had attacked Alison was identified as one of the sergeants that Duke had seen around GI Joe headquarters. Alison was right; Rey had sent someone to kill her.Duke had himself set up in a local hotel. He was running out of ideas on where to hide Alison. It seemed everywhere he put her, General Rey found her. And just like she said, everything that she had uncovered was beginning to come to light. It was a brilliant plan, Duke had to admit. He was amazed at how her distrust for General Rey gave her the ammo to dig around that much. Alison had kept all of her notes so cryptic that he was having trouble putting it together. The pieces that had fallen so far had made sense.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. She was in such a fragile state, not only physically, but mentally. He knew what this was doing to Dash, he never thought about how everything would be affecting her. And to add to all that stress, she had killed a man in self defense. He knew there was a way around all of this, he just ad to figure it out. He heard his CIA phone ring and thinking that it would be Zach, he picked it up. It was a number he didn't recognize. General Rey had confiscated his Joe issued phone, and he thought perhaps it was a member of the team calling him.

"Hauser."

There was a pause before the other line answered. "Hello Duke."

"Who is this?"

"Is that of concern right now?"

Duke recognized the voice and was surprised to receive a call from him.

"What troubles me, Duke, is your inability to keep her safe."  
"How do you know what is going on?"

"I have contacts everywhere, Duke. I can help you, if you will allow me."

"What kind of help are you offering, Destro?"

"I can provide Lady Jaye with…protection. A place to recover, a well equipped medical staff. A haven, if you will."

Duke was silent for a moment. Nothing Destro offered came without a price.

"What do you want in return?" Duke asked.

"Nothing. I have always held Lady Jaye in the highest regards. Consider it a favor. Her life has already been threatened twice. It's only a matter of time before the third occurs. And what is it your Americans say?"

"Third time is a charm." Duke said dryly. "You have my attention, what do you suggest?"

Duke had gone back to the hospital with a heavy heart. He wasn't sure exactly how Alison was going to deal with what was going to happen next. He knew it was the only thing he could do now. He held her had, as he always did and looked at her. He ran his finger across her wedding band.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." He sighed. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. I'm tired. My body is tired, my mind is tired. Both are sore."

"You'll be able to rest soon."

"No I won't. You keep saying that, and look what happens. Duke?" She looked him straight in the eye. "I want to go home."

"Where is that?" He asked her. You always said as long as you were with Dash, you were home, and did you ever settle anywhere?"

Alison became defensive. She took her hand out of his. "What kind of question is that? How dare you!"

"Where are you supposed to go?"

"I don't know, _Conrad_." She said venomously. "I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend. I'm telling you, logically, that you just can't go _home._"

"I'm just going to be placed in hospital after hospital until I die then?" She asked.

"No. You need to recover, and then we can talk about you going…somewhere."

Alison tried to end the conversation by refusing to talk to Conrad. He took her hand again.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" He asked her.

"Are you going to leave?"

"No, not for a while. Alison?"

"What?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"That depends."

"Can you just concentrate on getting better? Don't worry about anything else. I'll take care of everything."

"I'll try."

"Good girl. Get some sleep."

He waited until she drifted off. He squeezed her hand tightly and smoothed her hair. It was going to be a while before he saw her again. Just before he left he kissed her on the cheek.

"Sleep well, Honey. I promise you, this is for the best."


	6. Third Strike

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

**_Third Strike_**

Alison woke up more groggy than usual. When she opened her eyes she as startled to see something other than her hospital room. She closed her eyes and re-opened them. She was somewhere else. Her room was large, and ornately decorated. There was a large bureau, and antique furniture thought the room. She got out of the large bed, and walked to the window. She thought that if she looked out into the parking lot it would snap her back into reality. When she pulled back the drapes, she saw a well taken care of lawn that went for quite a ways before it ended at a line of trees that turned into woodland.

She had been moved again. She looked out the window again trying to look for something that looked familiar, but she saw nothing. There was a knock at the door and Alison turned to see who it was. A small woman with striking auburn hair entered. She nodded at Alison and walked closer to her.

"Did you have a nice rest?" She asked.

"It was fine." Alison answered. She closed her eyes trying to get rid of the dizziness that was coming over her. She obviously had gotten up to soon. The woman noticed and grabbed onto her, wrapping her arms around Alison.

"Come, let's get you back in bed."

Alison walked slowly back to her bed and crawled back in.

"Alison is it?"

"Yeah." Alison said. The room began to spin. Once it stopped she took a deep breath. "Jaye, Sarah, I think I was called Miriam for a while."

The woman laughed. "Well, which do you prefer?"

"Alison. Ali, my husband calls me Al," she paused. "Called me."

"My name is Erin. I'm your nurse." She pulled the blankets around Alison. "If you need anything you just call for me. Do you think you would like some tea?"

"Where are you from?" Alison asked.

"Edinburgh."

Alison smiled. "I know the accent." She couldn't figure out what it was, but the woman put her at ease. "How old are you?"

Erin laughed. "Not old enough to be your mother. Your sister, perhaps."

"You don't even know who old I am."  
"Ah, I do. I know a lot about you. Your medical records were quite complete."

The feeling of being at ease was starting to fade..

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You are in Paris. Your friend Conrad sent you to our facility."

"I'm in France?" Alison asked, shocked.

"Yes, you are in France."  
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You were not to know. The less people know the better. Our facility is really quite exclusive. For personal and safety reasons.  
"Does Conrad know I'm here?"

"Here, but not your exact location."

"Zach?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Alison closed her eyes. She was alone again.

"I'm sure you are not all with us due to the medication they gave you. Tea is next to you. I'll be downstairs if you need anything else."

Erin left the room and closed the door behind her. Alison turned on her side. It was painful, but she didn't care. She pulled her legs under her as best she could and curled herself in to a fetal position. She didn't care how strong she promised Conrad she would be; she needed to cry. The tears came to her eyes and rolled onto the pillow. She began to sob loudly and terrible thoughts came to her mind. What if she would have died in that accident? What if she would have let that intruder kill her? Would she be any better off than she was right now? She was alone, with no support. No one to be with her, no one to tell her she was going to be alright. What if she were to take a whole bottle of her pain pills? Would she drift off to join Dash, or would it put her into the same hell she was in now?

Erin heard her cry from the hallway. She walked back to the door and opened it enough to see Alison curled up in the bed. She waited a few moments to see if she would settle down and when Alison didn't she walked to her bedside and sat down. She ran her fingers through Alison's hair and wiped the tears off of her cheeks.

"There, there now. It's all going to be okay. You can rest now." Erin told her.

Alison began to quiet down.

"Shhh. I know you're scared, but I'm here for you. You have nothing to worry about. We'll take good care of you."

Her next days at her new home meant figuring out her new surroundings. She was not at a hospital, but at a private château outside of Paris. She had a full medical staff at her disposal any time day or night. She had noticed guards posted inside the home and outside. Not that she had ventured out just yet. The home was obviously a vacation home, and it did not lack any amenities.

She stepped onto the back porch and found a chair to sit in. Erin had brought her a cup of tea and had set it on the small table next to a local paper. Alison picked it up and briefly read through it. She had no interest in the happening of Paris, or France for that matter; but it did occupy her time. While she was turning the page she noticed one of the guards from the house wearing plain clothes was in the yard with a dog. He was shouting commands and the dog was following them. The guard pointed at Alison and the dog ran at her at full speed. She caught her breath, not knowing exactly what to do. The large German Sheppard stopped in front of her and stared. The man ran up to it and commanded him to sit.

"Good morning, ma'am." He said. He voice was thick with a Scottish accent.

"Good morning." Alison replied, somewhat wearily.

"This is Wallace." He extended his hand towards to dog. "My name is Callum."

"Nice to meet you, Callum." Alison did not take her eyes off the dog.

Callum laughed. "Down, Wallace." The dog complied. "I'm your bodyguard."

"I have a bodyguard?" Alison laughed dryly. "This is getting good. Kevin Costner you certainly are not."

"Hopefully you won't need my services. If you go out, we'll be with you."

"You and Wallace?"

"Yes, me and the ol' boy. He's a good dog. Seems like he took a liking to you too." Callum gestured to Wallace who was curled up at Alison's feet.

"How can you tell?" she asked.

"If he didn't he would have you by your neck on the ground. He's a trained killer."

Alison put her paper down and looked at Callum. He was tall and slender but had well defined muscles. His broad shoulders and short black hair reminded her of Dash. But his brown eyes set him apart. She noticed that instead of Dash's square jaw and chiseled features, Callum had a round face and goatee. She shook her head in disbelief and reached down and began to pet Wallace. Wallace in turn sat up, wagged his tail and put his head on Alison's lap and let her continue petting him.

"Killer dog, hey? You're not a killer dog." She cooed to Wallace.

"If you want, we can go over your security detail now." Callum told her.

"Sure." Alison said.

"Needless to say that Wallace and I will be following you wherever you go. If you're familiar with bodyguards, I'll either be one step ahead of you, or one behind."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"There are also guards posted at the entrance to the house. No one can enter unless they are properly identified."

Alison looked over at Callum and knew that she was not in any ordinary facility as Erin had led her to believe. He leaned back in his chair and pulled a small grey clip from his pocket. He slid it across the table to her. Alison reached over and picked it up, turning it in her hands. It was no larger than a credit card with a small button on either side.

"You wear that at all times when you are away from the house. It's a transmitter. Let's me know where you are and if you are in trouble." He tried to take it out of her hands.

"I know how it works." She told him, not letting him take it away from her. "You press the buttons together."

"Right." Callum stood up and Wallace followed him. "I'll leave you to your paper."

Alison watched him walk away. She stood up and put the clip in pocket of her shirt and went back to her room.

General Rey slammed the drawer to Duke's desk shut. He had broken into duke's personal residence looking for any information Duke had about the exact whereabouts of Alison. Rey had gotten a hold of Duke's friend Zach and even though it took a strong arm to do it, Zach gave him what he needed to know. She was in France. Rey had left Zach with a parting gift of a few broken ribs, and a broken jaw for not telling everything he knew.

He heard the door open and he pulled himself closer to the wall to avoid being seen. A tall figure stumbled in and flopped himself on the couch. Rey looked around the corner into the living room and saw Flint passed out on the couch. He chuckled to himself. What a waste Flint had become. He walked into the living room and began to look through the bookcase. In a row of DVDs he found a copy of My Fair Lady. He opened the case, and instead of the DVD he found a blank disk. He knew it was what he was looking for.

Flint stirred in his drunken slumber. He opened his eyes and sat up.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was just picking something up. What's the matter with you Flint? Chasing the ghost of your wife again?" Rey laughed and walked towards the door. "Keep trying son, maybe one day you'll catch her."

Rey sat in his car and took the disk out of its case and turned it over and over in his hand. "I'm gonna find out everything on this disk and then I'm coming for you Lady Jaye." He threw the disk and the case on the passenger seat and drove himself back to headquarters.

Every afternoon was filled with exercise, treadmills and weightlifting. She hated her physical therapists. Moreover, the nutritionist, and the doctor who came to see her daily were not very high on her list either. Erin tended to her personal needs and was a constant companion. Anything she needed from a bath drawn to a snack in the middle of the night and Erin was there for her. One night, after a rather hard day at therapy, Erin came to room to check on her. Alison was sleepy but watching her television and Erin sat on the edge of her bed and brushed her hair for her.

"You know what we should do?" Erin told her. "We should go shopping."

"No we shouldn't."

"Come on Ali. I bet it would do you good. A nice day in the city, we could take Wallace to the park."

"No."

"You can't stay cooped up here. Besides, you could use some new clothes."

"Erin, I don't have any money."

Erin began to braid Alison's hair. "You don't need any. Your sponsor took care of all that."

"If you be quiet, I'll say yes. I'm trying to watch this soap opera."

Erin laughed. "We'll go tomorrow afternoon. I'll talk to Callum and get everything set up. You're going to have good day, I promise."

Alison must have looked a sight walking into the boutiques in Paris dressed in a sweat suit. Her hair was pulled into a sloppy bun in the back of her head. She took her time in the shops, picking out enough clothing to last her for quite a while. She was having a good time with Erin, finally being able to talk and laugh like she had not in months. Every so often, she would look over her shoulder and see Callum standing near the doorway; his eyes never left her. Before they left the city, Callum wanted to let Wallace out in the park. The sun was shining and there was a warm breeze blowing. Erin stopped at a sidewalk vendor and picked up a small basket of fruit and fresh cheese. She joined Callum and Alison near the river. They ate a light lunch and Alison wanted to walk along the river with Wallace. Callum agreed to let her and he stood up, waiting for them to return, and never taking her out of his eyesight. He saw Alison sit near the bank and Wallace sit next to her. She became partially obscured by a bush. He only took a few steps toward her when he heard Erin yell. He turned around and saw two men grab Erin by her arm and jerk her up off the ground. She tried to reach for her sidearm that was hidden under her waist band but the man grabbed it first. Callum ran over to her, and tried to tackle the man. He was thrown to the ground. In the melee, he didn't see General Rey approach Alison on the river bank.

Wallace, who was sitting calmly on the river bank, perked up his ears and turned his head. When he saw the man approach he stood up and growled. Alison turned her head to see what he was growling at and her breath caught in her throat when she saw General Ray walking towards her. She slowly got up off the ground.

"Hello, Lady Jaye." Rey said. "What a gorgeous day."

Alison looked nervously to where Callum was, but she did not see him.

"What do you want?" She asked him. She reached to her side and firmly pressed her panic alarm.

"You."

"Wallace!" She commanded.

"Tell him to halt." Rey told her as he drew his gun. "I'll kill him."

Alison called Wallace back to her. He stopped, but kept his stance.

"Lady Jaye, why can't you just go away?"

"What are you talking about? Why am I a threat to you?"

"Because you know too much. You can get in the way of our plans. Those plans can not be stopped. The military tried to get in the way, and we took care of the jugglers. GI Joe tried to get in the way, and I shut them down. The Speaker of the House was getting nosy, so we took care of him too. Good thing we put one of our own in his place."

Alison stood horrified. She really had figured out his plan.

"You can thank your friend Zach. He's the one who told me where you were." Rey cocked his head to the side. "Oh I'm sorry, you can't. He's dead."

"No!"

"Come with me."

"No! She screamed. Wallace took a few steps closer to Rey.

"What did I tell you about that dog?" Rey spat.

"Wallace…" she warned.

Rey reached out and grabbed Alison by her arm. "I said come with me." He pulled her up the bank towards a waiting car. She struggled with him trying desperately to get of his grasp.

He did the only thing he knew would incapacitate her. He made a fist and lodged it into her abdomen. She gasped, having the wind knocked out of her. Rey pulled her close to him so he could wrap his arm around her and pick her up off the ground. "I can't wait to see the look on Flint's face when I bring you back to Washington."  
"What!" She said as she struggled against him.

"Hopefully he will be sober enough to realize it's you. God, what a bum he turned out to be."

Alison slammed her heel into Ray's foot causing him to stumble and loosen his grip on her.

"Callum!" She screamed. She heard shots fired in the distance.

Rey laughed. "I guess he is preoccupied."

He picked her back up and she took a deep breath and whistled for Wallace who was just a few feet away from them. He lunged at Rey latching onto his leg with his teeth. Rey screamed out in pain and let Alison go. She fell to the ground and crawled away from Rey.

Rey pointed his gun down at Wallace but before he could fire, he was shot in the shoulder. He fell backwards and Wallace released his grip on his leg and became attached to his arm. Alison looked to where she heard the shot and saw Erin standing yards away, her gun still in her hand. Callum came running from behind her, gun in hand and fired a shot at Rey.

Rey managed to fire a shot and he nicked Wallace in the leg. Wallace released his grip on Rey and sat on the ground. Rey got up, his gun now pointed at Alison. "I'd kill you, Lady Jaye, but I need you alive."

"Callum!" Erin yelled. She had Rey in her aim. "Get her out of here!"

Callum ran up behind Alison and scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder in a firemen's carry. He ran with her to their vehicle. The driver had the door open and Callum put Alison in the backseat and jumped in after her.

"Go!" he told the driver.

"What about Erin?" Alison asked.

"She can take care of herself. Back up is already there." Callum said. He punched the back of the seat in front of him. "Damn it!"

"Where are we going?" Alison said, her hand resting on her abdomen.

"The airport. We're leaving France."


	7. Holding Patterns

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

**_Holding Patterns_**

"Rey was shot in Paris. He is on his way back to the States." Duke told Flint. They were meeting in Duke's office at Joe Headquarters. Duke was agitated.

"What was he doing in Paris anyway?" Flint asked.

"I don't know. I was wondering if you had heard anything."

"No. I don't get told much around here anymore," Flint paused. "You know, Conrad, last week when I crashed at your place, he was there."

"In my apartment?" Duke was shocked

"Yeah, I don't know what time it was."

"Goddamnit, Dash!" Duke yelled as he threw down the papers he had in his hand onto the desk. "What the hell are you thinking telling me this now?"

"I didn't think it was important, Conrad." Flint replied.

Duke wanted to grab Flint out of the chair and punch him square in the face, if only Flint would know the reasoning behind it. "You know that I have confidential files all over that apartment. How could you let Rey go through it?"

"I didn't know what he was there for."

"You didn't know what he was there for? How stupid can you be, Dash? What did he take?"

"I didn't see."

"Why not? Were you too drunk?" Duke walked around the desk and stood in front of the window and looked out over the street.

Flint did not reply right away. "It was our anniversary. I had a right."

"Stop making excuses. I've had enough of it Dash. You need to straighten the fuck up. Do you know what you have done by not stopping him?"

"If someone got hurt, it's not anyone that matters to me." Flint said casually.

Duke wished that he could tell Flint that the person who could have been hurt was the one person that mattered to him the most. Duke looked Flint in the eye, but didn't say a word. Flint looked back at him, trying to read what Duke was trying to tell him. Duke thought perhaps Flint caught it, as his expression seemed to change. Duke broke the stare after a few seconds. He wasn't about to let Flint off the hook. He was too mad. He walked to door and opened it.

"Dash, get the _hell_ out of my office."

The cold rainy days in Scotland matched the moods of Callum's team who had migrated there. Nested in the highlands was another of the McCullen family estate. Callum had made sure that there were uniformed Iron Grenadiers posted at each entrance as well as around the perimeter of the grounds. When he made the call to Destro about the move, the Laird was less then pleased. Destro had expected something to happen with Duke knowing where Alison was. This time, Duke would not be told of her location.

Erin had joined them a few days later. Although she was roughed up, she was not injured in the attack. And Rey had managed to get away. Their objective was to maintain the safety of Alison, not to apprehend her attacker.

Since arriving in Scotland, Alison had retreated to her room and had not emerged. She would not see her therapists, or come to the dining room for meals. She had closed herself off from the rest of the world. Callum was damned if he was going to let her slip away again. He went into his room and took out her file. He took notes as he skimmed through it. When he had all the information he needed, he made his way to her room.

Callum knocked on the door and didn't wait for Alison to invite him in. He looked around her room, lit only by her television. Her clothes were strewn all over; trays of food were stacked up on the table. She was lying in the bed; it was apparent that she had been there for days.

Callum turned on the overhead light. Alison quickly shut her eyes.

"Alison!" Callum yelled. She did not respond. "Alison!"

"What?" She moaned through the blankets she had brought up to her face to block out the light.

"What the hell is this?" He motioned to the room.

"If you don't like it in here, then leave."

Callum walked to a pile of clothes, picked them up and threw them on the bed at her.

"Stop it!" Alison told him. She kicked the clothes back to the floor.

Callum walked to the side of her bed and grabbed her arm. "Get up!" He jerked her to a sitting position. "I said get up."

Alison brushed her hair out of her eyes. "What do you want, Callum?"

"Look at this place. Have you seen yourself?"

"No. I don't really care."

"You should. You look like shit."

"Fuck off, Callum." She took her arm out of his grasp.

"Ah, so there is still something in there."

"Leave me _alone_."

"What happened to you? What brought you down this far?"

Alison kicked the blankets off of her and rubbed her face. "Do you have to ask? I've almost been killed three times in one year. And then I have to confront the person responsible for it all and he flipped my world upside down, _again_. I don't want to fight this anymore. I'm tired of fighting."

"Do you think your life is worth fighting for?"

"No, I'm not sure it is."

Callum took a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. He unfolded it and stood in front of Alison. He cleared his throat and read aloud.

"Let's see. You were educated in the finest schools on the east coast of the United States. Received your Master's degree from Trinity College in Dublin, award winning actress…" He looked into her eyes. "Is this all an act?"

Alison rolled her eyes at him.

"This is the part I love, your military career. Ranger and airborne qualified, Army Sergeant, extensive intelligence training, you speak eight languages? Hmmm…"

Alison gasped, and Callum kept reading.

"Promoted to the top secret GI Joe team after only being in the Army four years. And as of nine months ago, you were head of their intelligence."

"How did you get that?" She asked.

"I did a little research. I would think someone with those credentials wouldn't be so willing to throw in the towel."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to get up off your ass! Take a shower, God knows you probably need one, and start living your life again."

"What if I don't know how to any more?" Alison got out of bed and tripped over the clothes she had kicked on the floor. Callum caught her before she fell.

"You watch the telly all day. What good is that?"

"I'm watching things unfold." Alison picked up a robe that was on top of the pile and put it on.

"That isn't doing anything. I can help you but you have to want to help yourself first." Callum opened the door and started to walk out. "Dinner will be ready at six. Erin and Wallace will be expecting you."

Alison turned to face him and before she could protest he shut the door. She kicked the pile of clothes in anger then sat back on the bed. Callum opened her bedroom door and stuck his head in.

"And stop feeling sorry for yourself. It doesn't suit your nature."

Alison showered and dressed herself for dinner in simple jeans and a blue button down shirt. It was the first time she was dressed in what she would consider normal clothes. No hospital gowns or seat suits. She looked at her arms and noticed how small they had become. She sighed and brushed her hair back into a ponytail. She took one final look at herself in the mirror and tried to smile. She shook her head then turned off the lights.

Callum and Erin were seated at the table. When Wallace saw Alison in the hall he got up from where he was sitting and walked to her side. He wagged his tail and waited for her to pet him. Alison scratched him between his ears and he followed her to the table and took his place at her feet. She sat without saying a word and a member of the house staff set a bowl of soup in front of her. She thanked him and looked over at Erin and smiled.

"It's good to see you back among us, Ali." Erin told her. "I thought you were never going to leave your room."

"Ah, no need to worry, Erin. Alison was just having a rough couple of days. Weren't you, Al?" Callum asked and winked at her."

"I guess you could say that." Alison responded.

"Before you came down, Erin and I were discussing several stories that were in the New York Times." Callum continued.

"Like what?" Alison said as she picked up a roll and tore a piece off. Erin reached over and took it out of her hand.

"You know you can't tolerate bread."

Alison popped the remaining piece in her mouth.

"It seems that there is a push to overhaul the entire US Cabinet. There are rumors of corruption, and the Secretary of State may be stepping down."

Alison sighed and shook her head. "Corruption is the right word. However I don't think anyone knows how deep it really is."

"And you know this for sure?" Callum asked.

Alison did not respond to his question. "Did they say who was next in line for the position of Secretary?"

"I can't quite remember the name, but I think it said he was a senator from Oregon."

Alison looked past Callum and out the window. She was trying to think who the senators from Oregon were, and her heart sank. She must have had a look on her face because Erin placed her hand on her arm.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah. " Alison shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

After dinner Alison excused herself to go for a walk. It was almost dark and it was starting to rain. She put her hands in her pockets and walked into the yard. Wallace ran to catch up with her and barked to get her attention once he was at her side. She knelt down to pet him.

"Oh, Boy. Why are you out in this rain? I'll be fine. Go back in the house."

She stood up and walked away, and Wallace faithfully followed.

"Wallace! Go inside!" She commanded.

"He wont go." She heard Callum say as he walked towards her. "He is trained to stay near you."  
"I know."

"If you don't want his company, perhaps you would like mine?"

Alison smiled at him "Sure."

Callum pointed towards the house. "Wallace, inside!" He waited until Wallace was in before he joined up with Alison. He took off his coat and draped it across her shoulders.

"You understand what is happening in the US don't you?"

"Yes." She said quietly.

"Care to enlighten me?"

"No," She paused. "It's not that I don't want to, I can't."

"You can trust me with your life, but not with this?"

"Exactly."

"You are a stubborn one."

"So I've been told." She walked ahead of him, the waited for him to catch up with her. Once he was walking next to her, she took his right arm and pulled it towards her. "You have a tattoo, can I see it?"

"Of course." He pulled his shirt sleeve up and revealed a gold sword with a snake wrapped around it, the unofficial mark of an Iron Grenadier.

"I thought so." She let go of his arm and started to walk back to the house.

"It's not what you think, Alison."

She turned around and threw her arm up. "Can the shit get any deeper? Now I'm defiantly not telling you anything."

"Duke sent you here for protection." He called out to her.

"What?"

"Laird Destro contacted Duke after you were attacked in New York. Duke sent you to us."

"I have a hard time believing that." Alison snapped.

"Try to calm down…" He reached out to her.

"Absolutely not! God, my life is a total nightmare! When is the doorknob going to show up to pry information from me?"

"He's not." Callum took a hold of her hand and she ripped it away. "Will you let me explain?"

"You better talk fast, Callum"

"Duke did not think that he could provide for your safety. General Rey kept finding you. Destro offered to take you in."

Alison rolled her eyes. "That's nice."

"Destro wasn't fucking around when he set up your security detail. Everyone you have been around since you arrived in Europe is a member of the Iron Grenadiers. Your drivers, house guards… Erin is a Sergeant. A trained field medic and doctor as well as an expert shot. I'm one of Destro's five personal guards. I was relieved of my duties only to be at _your_ service. I am to guard you, as if you were the Laird himself. I've seen you in battle, Lady Jaye, and believe me I was more than shocked when I realized who you were.

"I think I'm going to pass out."

Callum helped Alison to sit on the ground. "The Laird hates the Red Shadows, probably more than you do. He has lost as much as you in all of this and I'm sure that he felt that to help you would be like getting back a part of his own life."

"I don't believe you. His hand picked security staff really kept me safe in Paris, didn't they? Or did Destro just drop the ball that time?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Duke knew where you were in Paris. He doesn't know where you are now. No one knows where you are." Callum sat on the wet ground across from Alison. "I'm sorry about Paris. I wish you would tell me what happened before I got to you."

Alison pulled on the grass on either side of her and when she had a handful, she threw it to the side. Some of the wet grass stuck to her hand and she wiped it on her pants.  
"He told me that I couldn't stop what was already planned. He took GI Joe apart."

"Who?"

"Rey. He said that the Red Shadows owned the military." Her voice began to break up and she wiped the rain that was starting to pour down out of her eyes. "He told me that he had Zach killed and…:

"And what?" Callum took both of her hands in his.

"My husband isn't dead." Her voice became higher as it filled with anguish. "I'm afraid that as long as I stay alive they will hurt anyone that I ever knew."

"Do you believe him? Do you believe that Zach was killed and your husband is dead?"

"I don't know. Everything he has ever told me is a lie."

"You can stop him. Stop all of this, and find out the truth."

Alison took a deep breath and calmed herself as best she could.

"I don't know how."

"Yes you do." Callum stood up. "Let's go inside before you get sick."

She looked up at him. "Give me a minute."

Callum walked in the house and Alison sat by herself in the rain. She thought back to what happened in Paris. "Everything he has ever told me is a lie." All the hurt and pain she felt was turning into anger. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let the rain wash away the person she had become.


	8. Rebirth

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

_**Rebirth**_

Callum was lifting weights for his morning workout in the small gym that was in the home when he saw Alison out of the corner of his eye. She had her hair pulled back and was wearing her workout clothes. She quietly sat on the bench next to him. She took a minute to admire his bare chest.

"Your therapists won't be in today." He said between his repetitions, knowing she was staring at him.

"I don't need them." She told him. "I was hoping your could just help me."

Callum put down his weights and looked at her. "Are you serious?"

"If I wasn't would I be in here?"

He thought quickly then pointed to the treadmill. "Stretch out then walk on the treadmill for ten minutes."

"I was thinking of something else."

A sly smile crossed Callum's face. Alison caught it and playfully kicked him in the leg. "Men!" She paused. "I went through boot camp once. I want to do it again."

"No. No way"

"Why not?"

"You just can't. You're not ready."

Alison stood up and lifted one of Callum's weights. "Then you are just going to have to make me ready." She pulled the weight up to her chin and held it there, smiling at Callum.

"Why the change?" He asked her.

"I'm ready to help myself. That's all. There are things I need to do. Besides, British television is getting on my nerves." She looked over at him and smiled.

Callum shook his head at her. She was up to something. There was no way she could have changed her entire outlook on life overnight. He put his own weights down and walked over to her. "I'll leave this to your therapists."

She put her hands on her hips. "Then help me with something else."

Callum wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.

"I'm rusty with firearms."

"Alison…"

She looked up at him. "I want to be who I was. I want to find out the truth."

Callum reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head. "Good."

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked.

Alison put the weight she was playing with back on the rack and pulled a note out of her pocket.

"I need a few supplies. A laptop computer and access to at least semi-confidential files concerning the CIA and FBI as well as GI Joe."

"I don't know about that. I'll have to ask the Laird." He took the paper out of her hands.

"Make it happen. I also need a satellite hookup and a cell phone with a private number."

Callum laughed. "Anything else?"

Alison did not skip a beat. "A passport, complete US citizenship documents including birth certificate, and driver's license and a credit card…"

"Just what the hell are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything! I just want to have them."

Callum folded the paper. He stepped even closer to her. "I find you are planning anything that will endanger your life…"  
"I'll keep you informed." She blew him a kiss and walked out of the gym.

The day Callum gave Alison her computer she was like a little girl on Christmas Day. She took it out of the box and walked to her room. Her cell phone was already there as well as her paperwork. Both items were put into a small backpack and placed in the closet. She connected to the internet via her satellite link and began to look up pages on the news in Washington, as well as information on each one of the Senators from each state. She was frustrated, seeing as she already had most of this information tucked away in her personal laptop. Alison wasn't sure of its location, but she hoped that it was in storage in Washington. The next thing she needed was a way into the computers at Joe Headquarters. She knew that the computer system there was designed by Mainframe. He also designed a complete operating system. He let her beta test it before it was released on the market. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but it did have a few surprises for those who crack the codes. And she knew that if she was going to hijack the computers at Joe Headquarters it should be on Mainframe's system.

Alison now had the full cooperation with the Iron Grenadiers and any information she needed was at her disposal. She had to be careful. As much as she was thankful to Destro for helping her, she knew he was not above turning around and using any information she would uncover for his own self serving purpose. She had Destro's people get her access to Duke's personal cell phone records. There were numbers on it that she couldn't recognize. One of them was linked to the phone system at the CIA. She took a chance and tried the number. On the fifth ring, someone picked up. She chickened out and hung up with out saying a word. She tried again and did the same thing.

"You want things to change and this is how we are going to start." She thought to herself.

She dialed the number again and waited for a pick up.

"Zach Allen, can I help you?" His voice was somewhat agitated.

Alison's heart was beating fast and she didn't say anything.

"Is there someone there?" Zach asked.

She slipped into a British accent and answered. "Am I speaking to Mr. Allen?"

"Yes, you are."

"You may not know me, but I'm a friend of your…" She paused. "Sister."

"Ohmigod. Don't hang up!" Zach got up from his chair and shut the door to his office. He knew he was talking to Alison. "Is there another number I can reach you at?"

"No. I can't stay on long."

"How is she? It's been a long time since I have talked to her."

"She is doing…well." Alison paused again, not knowing what to say.

"I need to talk to her."

"I'll find a way. Please do not inform the rest of her family that I called."

Zach knew what she was trying to tell her, but how could he not tell Conrad that he had made contact?

"Take care." And with that, she hung up.

Three months of no contact or word of Alison had led Conrad to think the worst had happened. Shortly after Rey returned to headquarters after his injuries in Paris, Conrad inquired about what happened. Rey simply brushed him off. Conrad had other things to worry about now. The team was scaled down and was making the final preparations to move their headquarters to a location simply known as "The Rock".  
Conrad was packing up his office before he left for lunch. Afterwards he was going to stop in at the CIA to talk with Zach. Apparently, there was an 'operation' in the works that Zach needed him for. And he had run across some information about terrorist activity that Conrad may want to know about. Before Conrad left headquarters, he stopped past Dash's office. He knocked on the door frame and Dash looked up from the newspaper he was reading.

"Come in."

"Hey Dash."

"Do you need something Conrad?"

"No, I was just stopping in to say hello. You look good."

"Well a few weeks off will do that for you."

Conrad kept the conversation short. "I'm leaving for lunch right now, care to join me?"

"No. I have a date at the shooting range."

Conrad sighed; Dash still hadn't given up all of his vices.

Conrad met up with Zach at his office in Langley. Every agency in the world was keeping an eye on the recent bombings and coups taking place in world. The CIA had figured out a few of the connections, but they knew that COBRA had been dismantled in the past year and most likely it was a copycat terrorist group. In the past three months the number of Senators and Congressmen who had resigned was astonishing. The command structure of the government was changing almost daily. Zach had been keeping a close eye on the activities of the Red Shadows in recent months and he believed that they were somehow responsible for what was happening. Zach had for all this time kept the fact that he had been in contact with Alison a secret from Conrad. There hasn't been much to tell him anyway. She mostly called to ask questions about who was in what office, and had he heard of anything that the news wasn't reporting. Zach had tried to get a number where she could be reached, but she bounced her calls off of a satellite.

Conrad cut to the chase and asked Zach about the operation he was putting together. He assumed it was a Black Operation.

"We have an operative in the field. That person is looking for extraction." Zach told Conrad.

"What's the real reason?"

Zach leaned in closer to Conrad and lowered his voice. "This person is the sole holder of pertinent information that a small unit such as yours would consider useful."

"The only pertinent information we need is what is inside of Alison's head. And I don't think she is going to be extracted from anywhere, anytime soon." Conrad told him.

"She may have her ways. Maybe she's just waiting for the right time."  
"I see you're still hopeful."

"Aren't you, Conrad?"

"There's been no word from her in over three months."

Zach tried to hold back a sly smile. "Have you been able to get anything from Rey?"

"No. He has completely shut me down on that end. He doesn't even taunt Dash anymore."

"It sounds to me like he is keeping quiet for a reason. Maybe he is up to something big."

"You've heard form her haven't you, Allen?"

Before Zach could answer an intern opened his office door. "There's been a bombing in downtown Los Angeles and in Miami…"

Conrad looked at Zach. "I think now would be the right time for Ali to give us that info, don't you?"

Alison and Callum arrived at Dulles International and once they were through customs she went directly to rent a vehicle. She used her new assumed identity as not to raise any suspicions if somehow her real name was flagged. Callum put their bags in the back and Alison sat in the driver's seat. It was almost ten PM. Alison drove to office building where MARS' US affiliate was located. Callum went inside and returned with two large cases. He put them in the trunk with their luggage. When they finally got on the expressway, Callum read aloud to her the directions she received from Zach to the storage unit where Dash had put all of their things. Alison slowed the SUV as they passed the exit that would lead to Arlington National Cemetery. Callum noticed the change in her and placed his hand on her arm.

"It's okay. You're doing the right thing." He told her.

She sighed and accelerated. She got off the freeway at the next exit and it was only a matter of minutes until they reached the storage center. Dash had picked a store-it- yourself unit, one with no security guard on duty. She drove slowly through the grounds until they found the unit they needed. They used the headlights of the SUV for light and she walked up to the door. She grabbed onto the master lock and pulled on it.

"It isn't going to open that way." Callum said with a laugh.

"Oh, you think?" She answered back as she rolled her eyes.

"Do you want me to pick it?" he asked.

"No." Alison walked to the back of the SUV.

"Alison, don't."

Alison opened the back and opened one of the cases and took out a handgun. She checked the clip to make sure it was loaded. She took the safety off and walked back to the door.

"The police will find out if you shoot that lock off." Callum warned her.

"Do you think I care about that?" She didn't wait for Callum to stop her. She aimed and shot the lock apart. "Damn, Dash. You didn't even bother to get a good lock."

Callum laughed and raised the door. Inside were boxes, most of which were not labeled, stacked along the sides of the unit. Alison walked in and reached for the light. When the room lit up, she looked around and sighed. She tucked the gun into her waistband and reached for one of the boxes.

"What are we looking for?"

"Pictures. Framed pictures. We also need my laptop, and a box of floppy disks, if we can find them."

Callum opened another box of clothing. He dug through it, and put it aside. He found her laptop in the next box, along with a few other electronics.

"I found all of this. Do you want me to go through it?" He asked.

Alison did not look up from the box she was looking through. "I just want the laptop and the disks. Put them in the truck."

As Callum walked back to the SUV, Alison opened another box. She picked up a vase she had received for a wedding present. Her mind flashed back to the day that Dash had dropped it and chipped a piece off of it. He tried desperately to hide it from her. She ran her finger over the chipped edge.

"Callum!" She yelled.

He ran back into the unit. "What is it?"

"Go and get me a lock."

"Where?" He laughed. "I told you to let me pick it."

"Anywhere. Just get me one." She tried to suppress how upset she was becoming. "My life is in here."

He knelt in front of her. "I know it is. Are you sure?"

"Just go and get back here."

He shook his head at her and closed the door to the unit behind him.

Alison put the vase back in its box and reached for another one. She opened it and sitting on top of a pile of her Army uniforms, and awards were her dog tags, and her Joe com. She set the com aside and slipped the dog tags over her head. She dug through the box and found that not only here her uniforms in it, but Dash's were as well. Her heart sank. Perhaps Rey was right and whoever packed her things had also packed Dash's as well. She wiped a tear out of her eye and continued to search for her pictures. She was in the unit for a half an hour going through everything she had ever owned, when she pulled a bag up off the floor near the door. It was a bag of papers and recent mail. Not much caught her eye, until she noticed a yellow carbon copy receipt for the storage unit. Alison looked at it and saw it was dated a month ago and sighed by Dash. The signature wasn't a forgery, it was Dash's handwriting. She felt a wave of anger flow into her. Her breath caught in her throat and her chest became tight. She felt sick. All of a sudden her tears were gone. She dropped the bag on the ground and began to go through the boxes with a renewed energy. She didn't care if anything was put back. Clothes became strewn all over, papers ripped, and trinkets were tossed to the cement and broken. She heard the door begin to open and she reached for her gun. When she saw it was Callum she put it back.

"It took you long enough." She snapped.

"I don't know D.C. I got a bit lost." He handed her the new lock and she tossed it aside.

"Help me find my fucking pictures."

Callum took a step back. "Ali, what is the matter?"

"This." She handed him the receipt. "I guess my husband isn't dead. I need those pictures!"

"Love, I don't understand what good a picture is going to do." Callum helped her search. He opened a box near the back and carried it to where she was frantically tossing things out of another. "I think I found them." He said quietly and sat the box next to her.

Alison took a framed picture out, looked at it and tossed it on a pile. She reached in and took out a picture from her wedding. She sighed and threw it to the ground. The glass frame broke. She picked up another of Dash, and threw that to the ground as well.

She reached down and took the pictures out of the frames. She turned to Callum.

"Take everything from that pile and put it in the car."

Callum did as he was instructed and Alison quickly looked through the unit to see if there was anything else that she needed. When she decided she took everything she wanted she turned off the light and Callum shut the door. Alison placed the new lock on it and they got back in the car.

"Where to now?"

"A hotel."

"Anything in particular?" Callum asked as he pulled the car out of the parking lot.

"The fucking Ritz Carlton." She said sarcastically. "Anywhere, just drive."

He looked over at her. "I really like this new side of you."

Alison ignored him and looked down at the two pictures she had in her hand.

The next evening, the only news that was being reported was about the bombings in Los Angeles and Miami. Ali knew they were just a distraction to the main even that should be shaping up soon. She strapped her final holster to her waist and as she was tightening it Callum walked in on her. He didn't say anything to her. He walked over to her and began to undo the belt on it. She tried to slap his hands away from her, but he managed to get it off. It fell to the floor. He let his hands linger on her waist. She didn't pull away from him right away.

"What are you doing?" She said as she took a step back.

"You can't go into Washington looking like the Terminator, Ali. I doubt you would even make it out of the hotel."

She opened her mouth to speak but Callum cut her off.

"Don't tell me you don't care. You have to be careful! I know that you are upset, but walking out in public with that many firearms in plain view is just stupid and you know it. I don't know if getting caught is part of your plan, but it certainly isn't mine. We haven't even told the Laird what is going on yet…"

"And we're not going to."  
"I'm the…"  
"I know what you are. Things are going to be hard enough without Destro interfering."

Callum walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He looked at her with his dark brown eyes. "Then tell me, just what is our plan of action."

Ali put her hands on his arms and pulled them away from her. "Callum, don't." She shook her head at him, trying to think of a way to tell him to cool out. "It's not like that with us. It can't be. I owe you so much, but please…"

"I understand." He turned away, embarrassed that he had made such a move.

"We need to go to Joe headquarters."

"Then I am defiantly not letting you go like that. Do me a favor, let me carry the guns."

"Fat chance."

Ali and Callum parked their car in the parking structure that was on the opposite side of the block from Joe Headquarters. She was able to get them to the back entrance without being noticed. Her pulse began to race, because normally there would be guards securing the doors. She looked at Callum and shook her head.

"This isn't good." She told him.

She walked up the doors and tried to pull it open. It was locked. She peeked in and saw a lone guard walk towards them from his post inside the building. She pulled her dog tags out from under her shirt so they were visible and pulled the small bag she was carrying over she shoulder.

"Can I help you Ma'am?" he asked her as he stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

"Yes, I need to get to the office of Conrad Hauser."

The guard walked back to his desk and flipped through a clip board. "There are no appointments for Mr. Hauser."  
"Well," Ali began, she was not about to give in with a simple no. "I don't have an _appointment_. I just need to pick up some things that he left for me."  
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. The GI Joe offices are under high security clearance and I don't have any verification that you need to be here."

"I'm Sergeant Faireborn, and he sent me here to pick up some things that were left for me. Special Ops things, if you know what I mean."

The guard thought for a moment then stood firm. "I'm sorry Ma'am."  
"Understand this, _Private_." Her tone was rich with authority. "It is a matter of national security. I need access to that office, and I need it right now! Would you like to speak directly to Mr. Hauser?" She reached across the desk and picked up the phone. "Because I can call him if you would like."

Callum took a step closer to Alison. He knew he was going to have to step in ti intervene any second now.

"No Ma'am that will not be necessary. You are not going any further than this point."

Ali turned her head to make eye contact with Callum. He understood her gesture, and knocked the guard to the ground, holding him in a sleeper hold until the man passed out.

"Well, that took you long enough. Is that what I pay you for?" She snapped.

"Alison," Callum laughed. "You don't pay me."

She turned to him and smiled. "Oh that's right. I don't. Come on." She walked down the main hallway to the elevators. She looked above the bank of elevators and noticed a camera.

"Fuck!" She spat.

Callum took a silencer out of his vest pocket and screwed it on to his gun. He pointed it at the camera and shot it out.

"What the hell, Callum!"

"Just like in the movies."  
"When the rest of the guards in the building come rushing in and kill you, I'm leaving your body here." She sighed and shook her head.

"How are we getting in?" he asked.

"Punch codes? This is still here?" She said out loud. "Mine obviously doesn't work anymore…but Dash's will…"

She entered the last four of Dash's social security number and waited for the small lights to turn green. They didn't. She then tried the master override number and that was blocked as well.

She reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out the pictures she had taken from the storage unit. She unfolded them and began to punch in the numbers that were written on the back.

"What is that?" Callum asked.

"Access numbers. I hacked the operating system on the computers when we moved headquarters here and took everyone's number." She tried number after number and none of them would open the door. "One of these _has_ to work!"

"Rey probably knew you would do something like this, so he changed them."

She stopped what she was doing and turned to him. "He's not _that_ smart."

Alison got to the fifth number on her list and the light blinked green and the doors opened.

The two entered the elevator and she hit the second floor button. They were quiet until the doors opened again and they walked into GI Joe Headquarters, or what was left of it. She walked from room to room and saw that things had been taken out, and rooms were empty or boxed up.

"Their moving." She said to Callum.

"To where?" He asked. She didn't answer him.

"Check the other rooms." She told him.

She walked down the hall to where she knew the command staff offices used to be. She walked past a closed door that read "Agent Faireborn." She paused in front of it, but didn't open the door. The next door was Conrad's office and finally General Rey's. The door was partially open and she kicked it all the way. When she made sure it was cleared, she walked in and went over to his desk and began to look through his papers.She flipped open the laptop that was on his desk. She pulled a disk out of her bag and put it in the drive. The disk automatically began to copy all of the computers files. While that was working, she moved to the filing cabinets, but they were mostly empty.  
"Callum!" She called from down the hall. "Get in here."  
Callum cautiously walked down the hall and went to the office. She pulled another disk out of her bag and handed it to him. "Take this to the next room and put it in one of the main terminals."  
He did as instructed. As soon as he put the disk in, the security alarms began to go off. Alison yelled for him to abort the transfer and to return to the back office.

He handed the disk back to Alison and she slipped it back into her bag. She quickly looked around the office for anything else that would be useful and found nothing. They needed to get out of headquarters before they were seen, and being the back office left them no way to sneak out. They heard troops enter the main room. Callum lead her down the hall to one of the empty offices that had a window. She couldn't see just how many troops had come up but she spotted one familiar face. Callum pushed her into the room and she pulled away from him. She signaled him to stop and she put her gun back in her holster and stood in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" He whispered to her.

"Just trust me." She took a step into the hallway.

"No. I can't let you do this." Callum pulled her back into the room. "I'll distract them, you make a break for the door."

"You don't have to. Please trust me."

Callum started down the hall to the main room. He was stopped short by the one of the troops.

"Halt or I'll shoot!" He yelled at Callum.

Callum put his hands in the air. Alison sidestepped him and continued walking into the main room. A second troop yelled for her to stop while he aimed his weapon at her. She raised her hands in surrender.

"Hi, Duke." She said. "Long time no see."

"Hold your fire." Duke told the troops. "Clear the alarm." He put his weapon back in its holster. He walked up to her and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her across the room to emergency exit. When the troops cleared out of the room, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "My God, Ali. You're alive."

She hugged him back tighter. "I know."

"What are you doing here? Who is that with you?" Conrad asked her as his com went off. He held up his finger in a gesture of telling her to hold on so he could answer.

"Duke here."

"Where the fuck is she?" She heard Rey say over the com.

"Where is who?" Duke tried to play stupid."Don't play stupid with me, Hauser. I'm on my way in. If I find her there, I'll kill you both."

Conrad turned off his transmission with Rey. "Do you still have that com I gave you?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered.

Conrad walked to the nearest computer terminal and opened the surveillance camera programs. He shut the cameras down then walked back to the emergency exit door. He opened it and motioned for Alison to go down the stairs.

"Sunflower."

Alison was puzzled for a moment, then knew what Conrad meant.

When they were well on their way down, Conrad shut the door. He went back to the computer terminal and began to wipe out the surveillance videos.


	9. Sunflower

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro  
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

**_Sunflower_**

Dash arrived at headquarters after being paged by General Rey. The building was on lockdown. When he got up to the offices, he heard Conrad and Rey debating loudly about apprehending those who broke in. Dash walked into his office and checked everything to make sure it was still intact. He stopped a troop to ask what had happened and was directed to Conrad. Dash walked to Rey's office and didn't bother to knock.

General Rey took a break from yelling at Conrad. "Welcome Faireborn, nice of you to get here."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I had a family issue to take care of."

"You don't have a family anymore remember, Faireborn?" Rey told him. Then with out skipping a beat he continued his tirade at Conrad.

Dash was taken aback. Rey's comment was like a punch in the stomach. No matter how many times Rey said it. He never missed an opportunity to remind Dash that Alison was gone.

"I know she was involved, Hauser." Rey said. "I'm going after them."

"It wasn't who you think, Rey. They didn't take anything and didn't hurt anyone. I don't understand why you feel you have to go out and track down some kids."  
"It wasn't a bunch of kids, you know who it was, I want to hear you say her name."  
"Is there a description of who it was?" Dash asked.

"Well, it's about damn time you chimed in." Rey snapped at him. "Two perpetrators. One male, and one female. The female told the guard she was a sergeant and that she knew good ol' Duke."

"Conrad…" Dash started to say.

"I'm telling you I have no idea who they were. They ran out of emergency exit."

"After you told the guards to call off the alarm." Rey filled Dash in on the details.

"Going after them is a waste of time. These offices are not exactly secret."

Dash walked over to a computer terminal and tried to bring up the security tapes. They were blank. "The tapes are clean."

"They were probably shut down when we took the terminals off line." Conrad said.

Dash gave him a disbelieving look.

Rey was through with Conrad. He turned to Dash. "Flint, if you were in my position, would you go after these…kids?"

"Well, yes. I would." Dash answered. "They may have not taken anything, but it was a breach in our security."

"Good man! Flint, I want you on my special task force. This break in just might be the beginning of some larger plot against this unit." General Rey gave Conrad a sly look then turned his attention back to Dash. "Flint, get a description from the rear entrance guard and call it in. I want this city covered."

Alison and Callum had made it back to their hotel without incident. They gathered their things and had to wait until the morning for a flight out of Washington. Alison spent the whole night checking the files in her laptop and scribbling madly in a notebook. Callum waited for her to fall asleep but she never did. She told him to get some sleep and she would wake him if he was needed. Early the next morning in the truck on the way to the airport, Callum questioned Alison's motives. She refused to give him a clear answer. One of the reasons was she didn't have one. She had a plan to come back to the States, but she never really did have a solid plan as what to do when she got there. She also knew that she couldn't take out the Red Shadows on her own. She did know that if she wanted to and with a little help she could bring down General Rey. That may not be beneficial to GI Joe, but it would help her sleep at night.

Callum didn't like not being in control. He always called the shots, and he should in this situation. It was absolutely impossible to do so when Alison was flying by the seat of her pants. He had trust in her, knew what her capabilities were, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was very close to becoming a loose cannon. They left their weapons in a case for pick up by M.A.R.S. and took only what they knew they could get on the plane.

The first flight they could get out of D.C. was a flight to Chicago. Alison promptly bought two tickets and they had to board shortly after they were cleared through security. Getting their clearance took longer than normal and Alison had a bad feeling. When she heard the engines start she turned to Callum.

"This might be it."  
"Might be what?" He asked.

"Going through security took too long. I have a bad feeling."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know yet. If anything happens, I want you to get yourself out of here. Duke knows I'm here now…"  
"No, no, and no. That is not how it goes, Ali. I am here to guard you."

"You would die to protect me?" She asked him.

"That is my job."

She shook her head at him. "Do you want to let Destro know where we are?"

"I will when we land. Where are we going once we get to Chicago?"

"We are going to Kansas."

Dash drove to Conrad's apartment and met him in parking lot. Conrad looked upset but that didn't stop Dash, who was pretty upset himself.

"I was looking for you." Dash said.

"I'm busy today." Conrad told him.

"I have to talk to you about something." Dash followed Conrad to his car.

"Not now Dash." Conrad said as he unlocked the door.  
Dash wasn't going to be brushed off. "Someone broke into my storage unit two days ago."

Conrad stopped what he was doing. "Did they take anything?"

"The whole thing was picked through. Some of Alison's things are gone."

Conrad opened the door but didn't get in. "Maybe it was random things."

"Her dog tags, her laptop, clothes… they even ripped pictures out of the frames. That doesn't sound random to me."

"What do you want me to say? Did you call the police?"

"No. I want you to tell me what you know about it."

Conrad threw his keys on seat. "Jesus Christ, Dash. Someone broke into headquarters last night. Do you think I had something to do with that too?"

Dash looked to the ground then at Conrad. "I don't know. Did you?"

"Look, Dash, I don't know who would break into your unit." Conrad's cell phone began to ring; he looked at the screen to see who it was as he answered Dash. "This is Hauser."

Conrad listened to the voice on the other end. He turned his back to Dash. "Where did you get this information?"

Dash took a step closer to try and hear what Conrad was saying. "Can you intercept?" There was another pause. "Do it and keep me informed, I'm on my way in."

"Who was that?" Dash asked when Conrad hung up.

"When you join the CIA, I'll let you know. Oh and Dash," Conrad said as he got into his car. "You know me better than this."

The flight to Chicago had not left the gate and the captain came on over the loud speaker to inform those on board that there would be a delay. Alison unbuckled her seatbelt and looked at Callum.

"Son of a bitch." She whispered.

"We'll be okay. This could be anything." He took her hand.

They saw two uniformed police officers walk onto the plane and stand by the exit and two men in dark suits came walking down the aisle towards Alison and Callum.

"Sure. This could be anything." She said.

The men in suits stood next to her. "Alison Faireborn?"

She didn't answer them.

"Alison Faireborn, please stand up and come with us." One of the men grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up from her seat. Callum grabbed the man's arm and the other took his pistol out and pointed it at Callum. There were screams and gasps from other passengers.

"Do not resist." The first man continued. Alison stood up and was immediately handcuffed. Callum stood as well and the second man handcuffed him.

The man led her and Callum down the aisle and down the steps to the tarmac. "Alison Faireborn, you are under arrest for treason against the United States of America, participating in terrorist activities, and breaking into a military facility. You have the right to remain silent…"

Alison and Callum were met on the ground by more uniformed police. They were surrounded and taken back inside the airport via a service door.

Alison wasn't paying attention to the rights being read to her. She knew that as soon as she got to where they were taking her it wouldn't be long before Rey showed up. They were taken to a small room with cement walls and no windows. The two men in suits walked them into the room and left them there.

"Bloody hell!" Callum said.

"This doesn't make sense." Alison turned her back to the door.

The door opened and a dark haired man walked in. "What is the matter Alison? Did you really think I was going to have you arrested?"

She turned around and gasped. "Zach! You bastard!"

Zach unlocked the handcuffs on both of them and in turn received a hug from Alison.

"It's been along time." He told her.

"Yes, it has."

Alison took a step back. "Zach, this is Callum. Callum, this is Zach Allen. A good friend of mine from the CIA."

"We have to move fast." Zach told her. "Do you have any other luggage?"

"No, just the carry on bags."

Another uniformed officer dropped the bags in the doorway.

"Okay, get your stuff and follow me." Zach led them further down the hall and through the baggage handling department. They walked out of the large bay doors to a waiting vehicle. As soon as the doors were shut, the vehicle took off. There was the sound of sirens. Alison looked back and saw the lights of police vehicles surround the plane.

"What is that?" She asked Zach.

"That would be the FBI or military police arriving to detain you."

Alison leaned back on her seat. "Your timing is impeccable. Where are you taking us?"

Zach looked into the back seat where Alison and Callum sat. "Andrews. I thought you would know that a black operative doesn't usually fly commercial airliners."

"I didn't know this was still a black operation." Alison told him.

"It is now more than ever." Zach turned back around in his seat.

Dash sat silently in General Rey's office. He had gone to the airport to detain the suspects in the break in of headquarters but when they arrived, the suspects had fled. The only information he could get was the make of a car that left the tarmac. It was a government vehicle and that would make it almost impossible to track. He had tried to call Conrad to see if he had any leads but he could not be reached by his Com or his phone which led Dash to confirm that he was somehow involved.

General Rey walked into his office and sat down at his desk. He began to read the newspaper that were on his desk. Dash sat quietly until he was called on.

"Is there something that you want, Faireborn?" Rey asked.

"The information we received was correct, but they got the slip on us before we got there."

Rey did not look up from his papers. "Does this surprise you?"

"Why would it?"

"Because these people know what they are doing." Rey looked up from his paper. "You need to use unconventional thinking when trying to apprehend one of your own."

"One of your own?" Dash asked.

"Its no matter, they _will_ be caught and they _will_ be dealt with. You're dismissed."

Dash walked out of Rey's office and stopped by Conrad's. He was not in. Dash signed out for the day and went to find Conrad. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

General Rey looked up from his paper and watched Dash leave his office. A smile crossed his face. He liked playing mind games with Dash. He would keep Dash strung along for awhile longer, he was so close to the breaking point and once he got that far he would be easier to swing over to their side. General Rey once considered the Faireborn's a threat to his cause but he now realized that Dash would be a valuable asset. Alison was back and she wouldn't be a bother to them. The Red Shadows had succeeded this far and there was nothing she could do to stop them. He was going to find her and the icing on the cake was going to be finally killing her, perhaps this time in front of her husband. He sat back at his desk and made a call.

"It is time to go forward with the next phase. I expect nothing but results." He hung the phone up then went back to reading his paper.

The black SUV sped down the dusty country road to GI Joe's satellite base in Kansas known as Sunflower. Callum looked out the window and sighed. Alison noticed and moved so she was sitting closer to him. She took his hand and smiled at him.

"What's the matter?" She asked him.

"Missing my boy is all. He would love to run in these fields."  
"Wallace, Wallace… He would go crazy out there wouldn't he?" She looked out the window herself. "When we get to base you can call him."

"Right, right." Callum said.

When they arrived at Sunflower, Zach dropped them off at the entrance to the property that was masked as a farmhouse. Callum took their bags out of the back of the SUV and Zach got out to speak with Alison. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I have to leave you here. It will only be for a while."

"Why?" She asked.

"There is something else I have to do. I'll be back."

Alison tried to say something but Zach cut her off.

"You have nothing to worry about. You know this base like it was home, you'll be fine here. I promise I'll be back."

Alison rolled her eyes. "Don't say that." She grabbed her bag from Callum and they went inside the house.

The house was quiet and had all the furnishings of a normal home. She opened a door to the basement and she led Callum down the stairs. In the basement there was another door, this one steel. Next to it was a key pad. She turned her Com on and scrolled through the list of numbers Duke had programmed into it. She entered the number for the security door and pulled it open.

"Come on." She said to Callum.

He followed her through the door and it shut behind them. He followed her down a short hallway, where she made a sharp turn to the right. Into another hall and finally into a large open room. She took the flashlight from him and walked over to a computer terminal. She turned the computer on and in a few minutes the lights in the room came on.

"Where are we?" Callum asked.

Alison turned around. "Welcome to Sunflower. It's one of GI Joe's satellite bases. We haven't used it in quite a while, but its self sustaining, for moments just like this."

"What do we do now?"

"We wait for Conrad."

"And no one knows we're here?"

Alison smiled. "Nope. Not unless we turn all the computer systems on." She sat at the terminal that was linked to the main viewing screen and was able to pull up a security camera and entrance alarm. She now had a view of anyone coming or going from the base. "Want to take a tour?"

Callum looked around the room and shrugged. "Why not."

She showed Callum the mess hall, offices, and sleeping quarters. The base had been shut down when the GI Joe team was scaled back and it took a little bit of time to find where everything was. Alison gathered a few blankets and dusted off a bed roll and laid down for a short nap. Callum continued to walk around Sunflower then thought it would be best to let The Laird know where they were. He used the computer terminals to contact Destro; his message was brief. He left his coordinates at Sunflower and an update of Alison's condition and their near run in at the airport. Destro replied with a message of his own. Although he was not worried about the capabilities of Callum, he was sending troops to the area as an added means of protection. Destro knew of General Rey's ties to the Red Shadows and wanted the opportunity to engage the terrorist group in battle, provoked, or unprovoked.

Callum ended his transmission with Destro and put the security screen back on the monitor. He watched a car pull up to the house and he did not wait to see who got out of it. He pulled his gun out and went to wake up Alison.

By the time Alison got to the main control room the occupants of the car were gone. They made their way to the main entrance doors and stood armed on either side. The message light on her Com flashed, but she ignored it. The LED lights on the interior key pad changed from red to green and the door opened. Alison pointed her weapon at the opening door but didn't see anyone at her eye level.

"Put that weapon away, Alison." Conrad said as he walked into the hallway. He was followed by Zack and two soldiers that she had never seen before.

She lowered her weapon and put it back in her holster. Callum lowered his as well, but did not put it away.

Conrad instructed the two green shirts to set up video communications in the war room while he guided Zach to one of the interior offices. He motioned for Alison to follow them while keeping and eye on Callum.

"Its time to talk." He told her. "Gather any information you have and bring it back here."

Alison walked in front of Callum and he cautiously put his hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him and half smiled. "Let's get this ball rolling."

The image on the large video screen that was mounted on the wall became focused and Alison got her first glimpse inside the war room of The Rock. Hawk was front and center from his location there and she began to tell him, and Conrad all the information she knew. In her absence as head of intelligence, her information was a bit outdated. Things she had found out about General Rey and the Red Shadows had already come to pass, but the way she delivered her information, the serious tone in her voice, and the preciseness in which she said everything made it seem as if no time had passed. The two had even slipped into calling her by her codename.

"So you really mean, Lady Jaye that General Rey had been infiltrating the military for years?" Conrad asked her.

"Not infiltrated, Conrad. The Jugglers have kept him hidden, out of sight."

"How do you keep a General out of sight?" Zach asked.

"I asked myself the same question." Alison said. "Then it occurred to me. When we were in Paris, Rey came to," she feigned a cough, "see me. Afterwards, I questioned the ability of my security detail and Callum explained that he," she pointed in his direction. "Is actually a part of the Iron Grenadiers, as were all of the people who surrounded us at the time. My nurse, the person I spent night and day with, is a Sergeant. And I never realized it."

"Get to the point, Lady Jaye." Hawk said.

"The point is there are people in rank everywhere. Rey may be a General, just not in _our_ army. Things were so messed up when he took over did we ever bother to question it?"

"He was sent to us by Gibbs." Hawk said quietly.

"Exactly." She said. "This cements the fact that there were people in that discreet circle who were looking out for the wrong interests. That being said, I know that there are people in place in the executive offices who are also not of _our_ government."

"That was the only thing I was able to figure out, Lady Jaye." Conrad told her. "These are the people who are responsible for the attacks on Miami and Los Angeles."

"I wouldn't say they were responsible," Callum chimed in. "They just didn't do anything to prevent it."

"There is one more piece of information you need to know." Alison said. "Rey is in charge of the Red Shadow's army, if you can call it that. He's their tactical advisor. The removal and replacement of all executive positions goes straight to the top."

She delivered her last line and the room fell quiet. She looked into the screen and she saw Hawk rub his temples then run his hand though his graying hair. He sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Do you mean they are going to try to kill the president and vice president??"

"Not try Hawk, they're going to. And they will be replaced, with a president of their choosing."


	10. The Flip Side of the Coin

_Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters._

_**Haven**_

_**By Nickelina**_

**The Flip Side of the Coin**

During a few hours away from Headquarters, Dash was repacking the items he had put in storage. He refolded the clothes that had been torn through, and carefully put them back into the boxes. He wished he had made an itemized list of all the things he had stored; it would have made identifying what was gone much easier. Alison's battle dress uniform, her dog tags, and a sweater were gone from one box. Some of her books were tossed aside, her laptop computer was gone. It made sense, he thought. The laptop was a high ticket item. Perhaps some kids thought the uniform and the dog tags would be cool to have.

The one and only light in the unit hung low from the ceiling and as Dash swept up the broken trinkets and glass he hit his head on it. The light swung back and forth and something on the floor caught his eye as the light passed. He walked to the corner and in an open box by itself, picked up a glass vase. The wedding gift he broke. Why would it be sitting there, in the corner where it could not be broken? It was as if someone had intentionally set it aside. He put it back on the floor and moved to pick up the pictures and photo albums that were thrown to one side of the unit.

He scooped up a handful of pictures and tossed them into a box. He reached down again and picked up two framed pictures. The glass inside the frames slid out and caught his hand. He winced in pain and dropped them. He looked down at his now bleeding hand and grabbed a shirt from one of the other boxes to wrap it in. He swore under his breath and reached down to pick the frames up again when he noticed the back of the picture was written on. He picked up the picture and held it up to the light. There was a line of numbers and letters, written from right to left across the top. Dash shook his head in disbelief. He reached down to pick up the other picture, again the same thing. It was no way of labeling the pictures, it was a code.

"You know me better than this." The last thing Conrad said to him.

Dash closed his eyes. The line kept repeating itself over and over again. Alison's laptop, her uniform, her dog tags…he went back to the boxes and looked through them again. Something was amiss. He went back to the pictures and picked up the entire box. There was a message, a sign from Alison attached to those pictures and Dash was going to find out what it was. He turned off the light and closed the door to the unit behind him. He put the box on the passenger seat of his truck and on the drive back to headquarters he had a feeling he had not felt in a long time, hope.

A black van pulled up across the street from a well to do home outside of Washington D.C. There were a few lights on, signaling that the owners were home. The occupants of the van quietly got out and placed themselves around the perimeter of the house. The electric fence was disabled, and the guards taken out by a sniper tucked away on a neighboring house. Once the outside was secure, the front and back doors to the home were kicked in. The group of men dressed all in black went from room to room killing anyone who stood in the way of their target. Upstairs the sound of a woman and children were silenced by the soft pop of weapons with silencers. Downstairs, in the study, a man cowered in the corner against a bookshelf, pleading for his life.

"Please I beg you. I'll give you what ever you want, don't hurt my family." He cried.

A masked gunman laughed. "I'm sorry to tell you, but your term is up." He fired a single shot, ending the man's life.

As quietly as they entered, the group left.

For the next two hours Alison, Conrad and Zach mapped out the new layout of the command structure of the government. There were still a few true Americans in office, but the number of those linked with the Red Shadows was impressive. The table in the war room was covered in stacks of files, and newspaper clippings. In the corner were a pitcher of water and half drunken cups of coffee. Callum sat away from the table, watching Alison work. He was highly impressed with her level of intelligence and skill. It was no wonder the Laird held her in high regard. Callum was listening intently and doing his best to keep track of the who's and where's so he could relay the information back to Destro. He was sure that they didn't mind, if they had, he would not have been allowed to stay. He walked to the table and picked up a random file. He skimmed through it then put it back on the table. He looked across the table at Alison who had a weary look in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Callum asked.

"Yeah." Alison responded. She closed her eyes and rolled her head from side to side to loosen the kinks in her neck. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I'm fine."

"Good. Alison, I need to tell you something." He said to her in a low voice. He motioned for her to join him on the other side of the room away from Zach and Conrad.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"I have contacted the Laird and told him of our location. He has sent troops to the area they should be here shortly."  
"Are you insane?" She told him, raising her voice.

"No, I'm not. If I'm not mistaken, you told me to contact him."

Alison cut him off. "Yes, I told you to contact him, not to send troops!"

"What is going on over there?" Conrad asked from across the room.

Alison looked his direction. "Nothing." She turned back to Callum and spoke in a quiet voice. "How are going to explain this?"

A loud alarm sounded from the main terminal and Conrad ran over to it.

"What is it?" Alison asked.

"A news alert," Conrad paused. "Sweet Mary mother of God….Jaye, get over here! Zach, get the Rock online, now!"

Back at headquarters Dash was sitting at his desk going through a stack of pictures. The door to his office opened and General Rey stepped in. He looked through the room and stopped in front of Dash's desk. He reached over and picked up a small pile of pictures that Dash had put aside. Without saying anything Rey flipped through them and put the pictures back where Dash had them. He reached down again and picked up the framed picture of Alison Dash had kept.

"She was a real looker, wasn't she?" Rey asked Dash.

Dash knew Rey was trying to get under his skin again, and after finding the box of pictures he did not want his mood spoiled. "Yes, you could say that."

"Smart too." Rey put the frame back on the desk and positioned it so it was closer to Dash. "Maybe too smart, maybe not."

Dash looked up from the note he was writing. "What do you mean by that?"

"The night of the accident," Rey paused and picked up another picture. "It all could have been avoided. She set you up, you know. To take the fall for her, but it didn't work."

Dash could feel the anger inside of him growing. General Rey always took this road with him; tonight he was going to put his foot down. "Just a minute…"

Rey put his hand out as a sign for Dash to stand down. "You need to know. We had been following her trail for quite some time, Flint. She was always suspicious of me, and it was because I was on to her and she knew it. No one saw that she was plotting everything from inside until it was too late. When they began murdering members of the team…it all boiled down to who would know the location of all the members, and her name kept coming up. The night we decided to take on the Red Shadows, she was in the other room telling them our every move. I still don't understand why they would take out one of their own." He chuckled. "I guess that is what two-bit terror organizations do."

Dash remained seated at his desk. He tried to process everything Rey had told him and it didn't make sense. He knew Alison, loved her, there was just no way. Rey threw a handful of pictures in the garbage can.

"I had heard that there were confirmed reports of sightings."

"What?" Dash said dryly.

"I found this file in Duke's office." Rey threw a manila envelope on Dash's desk. Dash opened it to a picture of Alison dated months ago, the Eiffel Tower was in the background. He skimmed through a written report and slammed it shut.

"Duke would know more, but I fear he's involved."

Dash leaned back in his chair. "The break-in here. He won't give me an honest answer."

"I think it was Lady Jaye, and I think Duke knows it. He's protecting her and we need to figure out why." Rey sighed, and then stood straight. "We have an assignment."  
"What is that?" Dash went back to writing notes.

"We need to follow the President to a secure location." Rey said.

"When?"

"We need to be in the air in an hour."

"Why us? Isn't that what the secret service is for?" Dash asked, not quite understanding where Rey was going.

"Security breach. The Vice President and his family were assassinated ten minutes ago." General Rey said casually and walked to the doorway. "I'll see you outside."

Dash waited until Rey closed the door and he swore aloud. He wasn't about to believe what Rey told him. He stood up from the desk and retrieved the pictures Rey threw in the garbage can. He looked through them again and put them on the desk. He walked to the small closet where he kept a spare battle dress uniform, and pulled the hanger down. He reached down to pick up his boots and he saw an envelope under them. He pulled the envelope out and the only thing on it was his name in Conrad's handwriting. Dash opened it and pulled out a floppy disk.

"What the fuck is this?" He said turning it over and over in his hand. There was no time to look at the contents of the disk. He opened the file that Rey had given him and skimmed through it as he dressed. The more he read the angrier he got. He closed the file and put it with the disk. He locked them in his desk drawer and finished dressing for his leave. He left his office unsure of which story to believe, his commanding officer's or his heart's. The only thing he knew for sure was that Alison was alive and he was going to find her.

With two soldiers posted outside for security, the four at Sunflower stood in front of the large video monitor and watched the breaking news unfold. Zach had a phone to his ear trying to get information from Washington on the location of the President. Alison had her arms folded in front of her and every so often would wipe a tear out of her eye. Callum stood next to her, his arm over her shoulders for support. She was almost at her breaking point.

"What's the matter Jaye?" Conrad asked.

"Oh not much," she said sarcastically. "I just knew this was going to happen and I could have stopped it a long time a go, but I didn't."

Conrad marched over to her. He stood directly in front of her, as if he was about to scream in her face. Instead he spoke to her in calm, low voice. "I don't ever want to hear that tone again. You did everything you could. Do you think that any of this wouldn't have happened if you were dead? Although the chances are slim, we may be one step ahead of them right now. I broke a lot of policies smuggling you around for the last year, waiting for this very day. You can't break down on us now."

He cupped her face in his hands. "Take 30 seconds, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and center yourself. Find anything you can inside, fear, anger, anything that will pull the fight out of you. I know this last year has been hard on you, but goddamn it, you will not do this to us, not now. Do you understand me?"

Alison looked at him and shook her head, still slightly unsure. Conrad turned back to Zach.

"Get Flint on the phone now! I want to know where he is and what is going on in Washington."

Alison's jaw dropped. She turned to Conrad, a look of confusion on her face. He in turn looked at her winked and smiled. "Did that do it for you?"

She didn't answer him.

"Don't tell me you didn't know." Conrad walked back over to her.

"General Rey told me…" She stuttered, not believing the news. "I had my suspicions…"

"You should know by now not to believe him."

Zach put the landline phone down, not getting a response from Joe Headquarters. He picked up his cell phone that was again ringing. He took the message, flipped his phone shut and walked to Conrad.

"Their on the way… here. NORAD is a no go. An elite military unit is accompanying them. ETA is three hours."

Alison shook her head. She walked back to the table and began to go through the files again. "Why here? This base is not equipped to handle anything like this." She turned and looked at Conrad. "It's too easy."

"What do you mean to easy?" Callum asked.

"An elite unit is accompanying the president to a satellite base no one knows about in the middle of nowhere? Does that sound right to you?"

"The Red Shadows are going to them meet here. I'm calling the Laird." Callum went to a terminal to make the emergency call for backup.

Sunflower was dark and quiet when the first platoon of troops entered it. They secured the rooms and were followed by two more platoons. The computers were turned on, all systems go for the president's arrival. A team of secret service agents arrived and looked over the base and cleared it for the president to enter.

In a room marked "storage" the four watched via closed circuit camera what was going on in the other rooms. It seemed that with every passing minute, more and more troops were arriving, but they had yet to see the president or anyone they recognized. There was a lot of commotion outside, a lot of vehicles coming and going. It was a few more minutes before they saw the president. He was shown to an office and placed inside with most of his secret service agents.

Alison looked at Callum and poked him in the ribs to get his attention. "Any confirmation on your guys getting here?"

"Not yet."

Conrad laughed. "I never would have thought that Destro would be helping guard the president."

"He's not." Callum dead panned. "He's coming to take out the Red Shadows."

Zach pointed at the small monitor. "There's Rey.

Alison watched as General Rey walked through the door of the base followed by his core group of troops. They group walked into the main room and were talking with the troops who were already there and the secret service.

Duke moved to the back of the small room and began to hand out a supply of weapons they had secured from the supply room. When everyone had theirs, he laid out the game plan. "Since there are only four of us and about 50 of them and more on the way, we wait until Destro's troops get here. Hopefully they will cause enough commotion that we can get the president out of here and to the Rock."

"Do you plan on walking there?" Callum asked.

Duke turned to him and gave him a look. "No I plan on stealing any vehicle I can."

The four grew quiet and watched the activity outside the room. The troops that came with Rey all had an arm patch that they had never seen before. A mark of a troop of the Red Shadows.


	11. Rebels or Patriots

The sound of and explosion above ground shook the walls inside Sunflower. General Rey, who was sitting in the War Room pulled up any cameras to the outside to see what was happening. The view he got was unclear and he put a call out to the guards outside but go no response. Dash who was standing next to Rey also tried to call the outer guards for information. The response back was static filled.

"We're under attack!" the guard responded.

"Can you confirm enemy or friendly?" Dash asked.

"Enemy! Enemy!"

General Rey took over the transmission. "Return fire! Reinforcements are on the way." Rey snapped off the radio link. He turned to Dash. "Goddamn them!"

"Who?"

Rey's mouth turned a sly smile. "The Red Shadows."

Dash shook his head in disbelief.

"They are here. In this building, Duke is with them. Find them."

Dash pulled his side arm out of its holster and nodded an affirmative to the General.

When Dash left the room Rey turned to a solider at the panel and said quietly, "It's time. On my call."

The solider got up from the panel and assembled with four others and left the communications room, down the hall to the room the president was being held.

Alison grabbed on to Callum to steady herself as the base shook once again. They were walking down the halls to try and find where the president was being held. Duke was on the other side of the base with Zach trying to do the same. Destro's arrival had proved to be a good distraction. Most the troops inside had no real idea as to what was going on and even though the two had been spotted no one had the time or knew to apprehend them. Alison's com lit up.

"What?" She said into the mic.

"Where are you?" Conrad's voice came through.

"Corridor B. There's lots of confusion down here. Any luck on your end?"

"Corridor D is clear. Too clear."

Alison closed her eyes as she visually imagined walking down the corridor. She opened her eyes and shook her head. "It's mostly storage. We never did much with it."

Callum pulled her into a doorway and pushed her against the wall. She muted her com as five of Rey's troops walked past. "Something is going down."

"I'm sending Zach over." Conrad said. Zach nodded at him and backtracked down the corridor to Alison's location.

Conrad cautiously walked through the rest of the corridor. He stopped to look in an open room. When he turned his head back, he saw Dash storming toward him. Conrad didn't take a step back, he steeled himself where he stood.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Dash yelled as he ran towards Conrad. Dash tried to punch Conrad, but Conrad deflected his fist.

"Dash…"

Dash wasn't about to listen to Conrad. "What the fuck? Trust you? I was supposed to trust you?" He threw another punch. This time it hit its mark.

"You got it wrong, man. You got it all wrong."

"The fuck I do. What are you up to?"

Conrad's com sounded off. "Duke! We need you over here." Alison said. "We found him."

Dash took a step back. He knew that voice; he would know that voice anywhere. He was in disbelief.

"Duke!" Alison's voice pleaded. "Duke come in!"

Dash took a deep breath and grabbed Conrad by the neck of his shirt and threw him up against the wall. "I'm gonna kill you! "You fucking bastard! You knew all this time!" Dash pulled Conrad away from the wall and slammed him back against it. "Where is she? Where_ is_ she?"

"Dash…" Conrad tried to get free of Dash.

"Tell me!"

"Let go of me…let go of me," Conrad said a bit breathlessly. "And I will."

Reluctantly, Dash let go of Conrad. Conrad's com sounded yet again.

"Duke! Where are you?"

"I'm on my way, Lady Jaye." Conrad turned to Dash. "Make your choice. Us or him."

Dash stood still, unsure of which path to go down. He looked down the hall in the direction he came.

"We don't have time, Dash. It's us or him. I did not betray you. It's all gonna come out in the wash. Make your choice."

The sound of gunfire erupted from the adjoining hall. Conrad turned away from Dash and started down the hall. "Your choice?"

Dash turned and started down the hall in the opposite direction.

Conrad made is way back to corridor B. His heart was a little heavy knowing that Dash had made the wrong choice, but there was no time for mourning over the loss of a friend. Alison and Callum were hunkered down in a doorway. In the far end of the corridor, there were a group of Rey's men standing near the doorway to an additional conference room with members of the secret service. Conrad had them hold still, he wanted to observe the situation before taking action. There were three of them, and countless more of Rey's troops. The odds right now were stacked against them. Conrad made a call into the Rock. They were going to need more backup then Destro could provide. After confirmation arrived that back up was on the way, Conrad turned to Callum.

"Can you fly anything?" He asked.

Callum chuckled. "Of course I can. That is my unit outside, I'm sure I can find something to get up in the air."

"Good. I want you to go down the hall and up through the emergency hatch. Find a chopper or something that will hold us. Commandeer one of Rey's if you have to. Take Alison's comm."

Callum hesitated. "I can't…"

"I'll be fine, Callum." Alison put her hand on his arm. "Conrad is here."

"You better be." He turned to go down the hall.

The attack above ground had become more intense. Flint was trying his best to keep things inside Sunflower under control, but he was quickly realizing that without General Rey he had no idea of which troops he had at his disposal. He went to find General Rey. Flint made his way through the maze of hallways past the room where the President was being held. He turned yet another corner his eyes caught Duke pushing a brown-haired female towards the emergency ladder to the outdoors.

Dash stormed back into the war room. The entire base was in chaos while General Rey sat in a chair as cool as a cucumber. Dash's instincts told him to take over the operation, get control of the situation, but he knew better than to try to relieve Rey of his command. He had never felt so conflicted. The entire last year of his life was nothing but a lie. Did he really trust General Rey? Did he really trust Conrad? Both of them had led him to believe that his wife was dead, Rey telling him every chance he could, Conrad not saying anything at all. Not once. Was Conrad the traitor Rey made him out to be? He was CIA after all. Was Alison really part of the Red Shadows, a mastermind behind the demise of GI Joe, the deaths of her colleagues and friends? He thought back to the last time he talked to her. He remembered her anguish over losing fellow JOES, her anger over General Rey. His heart told him the truth. Now it may be too late.

"Flint!" General Rey snapped. "What are you daydreaming about over there?"

Dash was through with the harassment. "I wasn't daydreaming, Sir. I was trying to figure out what the hell is going on here."

"Well, you are about to find out." Rey stood up and gestured for Dash to follow him down the hall. "Flint, I'm pleased that you decided to join us, unlike Duke," he paused, "and your wife, who turned their backs on their country. By the way, did you find them yet?"

"No sir, I have not." He lied.

"No matter," Rey waved his hand in the air, "there are more important things to deal with right now. Follow me."

The two walked to corridor B. General Rey stopped in front of the conference room. A posted guard opened the door and Rey walked in. He came back out with the President. The three walked a few steps down, towards where Alison and Conrad were staked out. General Rey turned to face Dash. "I need you to go outside, get a helo ready for us. I want you to fly."

Dash noted the concerned look on the president's face. General Rey dismissed it.

"Yes, Sir." Dash walked back towards the War room to the exit.

Conrad got a message to Callum that they were making their way topside and to be ready. Callum had a chopper secured, but didn't know how long he had before he could hold it.

Conrad looked over to Alison who was still looking down the hall after Dash's retreating form.

"You okay?" he asked.

She didn't answer him right away. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"He'll be fine. He'll come around. He's had all the information he needs…" Before Conrad could finish the sound of multiple gunshots filled the hallway.

"Oh Shit!" Alison yelled as both she and Conrad hit the ground.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked.

Alison saw General Rey quickly leading the president down the hall in the opposite direction. The group of his troops was standing in the open doorway to the conference room, weapons pointed in. It was obvious that the secret service agents had been killed.

"Rey is leaving. We need to follow him." Conrad told her. "Zach," he called into his comm. "Zach where are you? We need to evac now!"

"I'm holding just outside of the War Room. I'll stay until reinforcements from the Rock come." Zach answered back.

"The hell you will, get over here now!"

"I can't get through, the way it blocked."

"Damn it!" Conrad cursed. "Go out the main doors then." He snapped. Meet us at the chopper."

"Duke, how is he going to know which chopper we're in?" Alison asked.

Conrad was stone faced. "Why aren't you up that emergency hatch?"

Dash was halfway back to the war room when he heard the gunshots. He turned around and saw Rey with the president coming towards him. The hallway was even more chaotic that before and he could have sworn that he saw the posted guards shooting into the conference room.

"We need that helo now, Flint." Rey called out to him.

No matter what the real truth was, Dash knew with every ounce of his being that something wasn't right. His self appointed orders were to protect the president. Even if that meant that he would have to go along with what General Rey had planned right to the very end.


End file.
